Stupid Kakashi
by KaaShiro
Summary: Set in an alternate universe. Ria Uchiha is the eldest daughter to Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, shunned for her rebellious nature, she fights to protect her brothers from the darkness of shinobi war and hate.
1. Chapter 1

**Part One**

Kakashi and Rin were waiting for Obito to arrive, he was late as per usual, they could see him running in the distance, Kakashi sighed, "Why does he even bother?"

"Cut it out Kakashi, you know Obito tries hard, maybe he has a good reason for being late," Rin tried to convince him but Kakashi wasn't buying it, he crossed his arms,

"You're too soft on him, he needs to learn to follow orders."

Moments before Obito arrived he was tripped up by a girl falling flat on his face, "I am so going to kill you!"

"Argh," he shrieked as the girl with the raven hair got ready to punch him, he covered his face, Kakashi intervened grabbing her wrist before she could do anything.

"Get off me," she scowled, her eyes were dark like her hair, her anger was clear for all to see, Kakashi paused he had never seen her before, she looked so young, so beautiful. It was hard to look anywhere else.

"I'm going to need Obito, so back off and go release your emotions elsewhere."

"Get off me or I'll release them on you," her voice was sharp and low.

"That's Kakashi Hatake," Obito wheezed still being crushed by the girls' knee against his throat.

"I know who he is, stupid little teachers' pet," she teased her eyes narrowed.

Kakashi tightened his hold on her wrist, "I'm no teachers' pet, and get off my teammate."

"Make me, teachers' pet," her words cut deep, suddenly he looked up as with a flick of her wrist she threw a kunei in the air, she grabbed it and attacked. He had to get his own kunei out to protect himself, the girl pulled Obito up her free hand going around the scruff of his neck, she kept him away from Kakashi as she fought one-handed. Kakashi had no time to pause and be impressed, this girl, she was beyond amazing, he had to use all his strength to not be beaten by her, he had no idea strength like this existed in the village, the girl looked no older than him and yet she was keeping up whilst being handicapped, she was not only keeping up she was winning. Rin suddenly intervened pulling Obito free and causing the girl to crash into Kakashi, him on top of her as she lay crushed under him.

"I'm sorry," Obito called out, pleading to the girl.

"I'm going to kill you!" she groaned from under Kakashi, "Because of you I got grounded! You know how long Dad screamed at me, you and your big mouth."

"Are you bleeding?" Kakashi asked her frowning, he had been momentarily lost in her eyes, his heart beating fast at their close proximity, he could smell blood.

"Well yes," she groaned squeezing her hand from under her back, blood dripped down her wrist, "Could you get off me already," she struggled.

Kakashi jumped up and offered her his hand but she refused it crawling into a crouching position, Obito kept behind Rin, "I'm sorry Ria, I thought he'd be happy to know, you're so talented."

"You think he cares about anything other than making the clan stronger," she scowled brushing the blood off of her hand, she put on a voice, "You're going to be a strong shinobi and make the Clan proud and then you're going to marry a worthy shinobi and further the bloodline by producing lots of strong boys…urgh," she shuddered, "Like I'm ever going to marry any of you losers."

"You shouldn't do that," Rin hurried over and took Ria's hand surprising her, "You'll get it infected," she began treating it.

"You must be Rin," Ria muttered, "Thanks."

"You know me?" Rin reddened glancing up at her, she like Kakashi had never seen her before.

"Course I do," Ria replied she poked Rin's forehead, "You're on Obito's team Rin Nohara, he thinks you're amazing, and the teacher's pet is Stupid Kakashi."

"Shut up Rizzie!" Obito hissed, blushing red himself.

She scowled over at him, "You know I could say a hell of a lot worse!"

"How do you two know each other?" Rin asked trying to tone down the tension, she could see Kakashi getting annoyed.

"Ria's my cousin," Obito answered grinning, "She just got made Chunin."

"You're a Chunin?" Rin was impressed, "How old are you?"

"I'm 8," she replied her eyes snapping at Kakashi, "But I didn't beat that stupid teacher's pet, so Daddy thinks I'm a failure."

Obito knelt down still a little behind Rin, his eyes on Ria, "It's not like you care about beating records anyway. You only didn't sit the test because you pretended to have a stomach bug."

Ria rolled her eyes, "Only so I didn't have to fight you."

"Why didn't you want to fight Obito?" Rin asked curiously.

Ria got up brushing the dirt off of her clothes, "Because he asked me."

"You were about to kill him," Kakashi pointed out finally entering the conversation, "Why would you listen to him?"

She glanced at Kakashi, "If I really wanted Obito dead I'd use this," her eyes flashed red exposing her Sharingan impressing Kakashi,

"You're 8 and you have the Sharingan?"

Obito sniggered, "Ria isn't just any Uchiha, she's going to be the next Clan Leader. Her father is the current Leader of the Clan."

Ria rolled her eyes, her Sharingan cutting off, "It's not going to happen, I'm a girl remember, boys, are more important anyway Mum's pregnant and it's probably a boy, either I get married off to the highest bidder for the glory of having an Uchiha wife, I die on the battlefield, or I run away. Either way, I am not going to be Clan Leader."

* * *

Kakashi was resting, his eye covered by his headband, he was aching all over, he couldn't handle the amount of chakra that was needed by the Sharingan, he didn't want it. It was a constant reminder that he failed, that he let a teammate die. "Wait," Rin called out as someone dropped through the hospital window,

"I'm sick of waiting," it was Ria, she went over as Kakashi sat up confused squinting in the dark,

"What's going on?"

"You're coming with me," she grabbed his hand and pulled him behind her.

"Kakashi needs to rest," Rin pleaded with Ria who scowled.

"No, he doesn't, he has had enough time, he needs to man up if he's going to learn to control the Sharingan. Every day he wastes it's going to carry on draining his chakra and soon he'll die, so if you want that eventuality then be my guest and make him stay."

"Of course I don't," Rin's voice broke.

"Then back off," Ria snapped and dragged Kakashi away. They trained every day for months, it was grueling, she was relentless, pushing him more and more until finally, he got the hang of it. He sat on the ground breathless, his eyes on her, his voice soft,

"Thank you."

Her back was to him, her shoulders slumped, "I didn't do it for you," hurt filled his eyes, "I did it for Obito, he gave you that eye so you could control it, so a part of him could continue. That's all this was, ensuring Obito's will is fulfilled," tears slipped down her eyes as she disappeared, Kakashi tried to reach out for her but she was just too fast. He followed her scent all the way to the Uchiha Quarters, she had gone home, he hid in the shadows wanting to catch a glimpse of her.

"Where have you been?" her father muttered from the doorway as she sat her back to him whilst she took off her shoes.

"Training," she replied curtly.

His jaw tensed, "Who with?" She walked passed him to get into the house, silent, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, anger flooded in Kakashi, he didn't like that, "What do you want dad?"

"I hope for your sake it wasn't with that boy."

Ria pulled away from him roughly, "I train you get angry, I don't train you get angry, what do you want with me?"

"You've been training that boy haven't you?" he narrowed his eyes.

"So what if I have?" she stared back defiantly.

"He should return that eye, it is not his, he is not an Uchiha, how dare you train him in our art!" he growled.

"It's not your eye," she hissed, "It was Obito's eye and Obito gifted it to him, it's no one's place to take it from him."

"Obito was a fool, like you," her father ramped up with fury smacked her hard, she didn't even attempt to dodge it falling to the ground, Kakashi's blood boiled he gripped hold of his kunei hard, it cut through his hand, she spit out blood on the ground and got up. Her eyes flashed red, "Happy?"

"You disobedient brat," he snapped.

"Hit me all you want, take out all your anger, hate me but you even dare to touch him," she threw a kunei it missed her father by millimeters hitting the doorframe, "I'll kill you myself," she put her shoes back on, "I'm going back to train," with that she ignored her fathers' shouts and disappeared.

Kakashi found her, she was sitting by the memorial rock her head resting against it, her eyes on the stars, "I'm sorry Obito, I know, I know you told me I had to be better with my anger, I should stop antagonizing him. I just can't help it, I just don't agree with what he thinks. I don't think being Uchiha is that special," she laughed a little, "What am I doing? Talking to myself, but what can I do," tears slipped from her eyes, "You're gone and I'm all alone…I hope my brother isn't like him, I hope he's like you," she smiled, "I hope he can change Daddy and the Clan, all I do is make everyone angry."

* * *

"Who's this little guy?" Rin said brightly as she ran into Ria, it had been a while since either she or Kakashi had seen her, she was holding a little boy no older than three in her arms, he seemed so happy with her. He had the exact same beautiful eyes as her, with silky dark hair, Gai's eyes were wide as he just stared dumbfounded at Ria, this was the first time he had met her. He had heard about her, she had become semi-famous as the Uchiha kunoichi with the skilled Sharingan. She was wearing a blue cheongsam, it was fitted showing off her slender body, she hugged the boy tighter making him chuckle,

"This is my little brother Itachi, isn't he beautiful!" Ria gushed, she adored her brother, it was clear the two doted on one another.

"Hello Itachi, I'm Rin," Rin smiled at him, "This is Kakashi, and Gai," realization hit Rin as she saw Gai, "Oh yeah you two haven't been introduced, Ria this is Gai, he's in my team."

"Of course I know about Gai," Ria grinned, "You're quite the Chunin."

"I'm nothing compared to you," Gai gushed.

"Ranks mean nothing, it's all about what's in your heart, right Itachi," she kissed Itachi's cheek making him grin and nod.

"What are you two up to?" Rin asked, "Want to join us for lunch?"

"What do you think?" Ria looked down at Itachi, "You want to join them for lunch?"

"Then we go play after?" Itachi asked her.

She nodded, "Yes, today is our day, we are going to go play and eat and explore."

"Yay," his eyes sparkled.

They all smiled in awe to see the love between those two, Ria seemed so happy with her brother, there was a brightness around her, "Are you going to train your brother?" Gai asked curiously.

"I don't want my relationship with him to be made up of violence, I don't like lives to be controlled fully by the ninja world, he deserves more than that. With me we will only have fun together, right," she high fived her brother who giggled,

"Right."

They ordered, chatting as they waited for their food to arrive when Itachi leaned on the table, "Rizzie loves me so much she didn't take any missions today so she could spend it all with me."

"There is no one in the whole world I'd rather spend time with than you," she smiled ruffling his hair.

Their food had just arrived when a group of Uchiha dropped by, "Itachi you need to come with us."

"Mum said he could stay with me," Ria tensed, Itachi grabbed hold of her.

"You're father changed that, he needs to go and train."

"I'm tired of training," Itachi mumbled, "I want to spend today with Rizzie."

"It's not our decision, you know what you have to become, come on now, don't make a fuss or your Dad is going to be angry and you know what he does when he's angry," they narrowed their eyes at him.

Itachi gulped looking at Ria who lowered her eyes, he nodded and went over to the men, the others unable to speak, one of the Uchiha leaned over his eyes on Ria, as he reached out to touch her, he slurred, "You know I can make that all change if you'd just be my girlfriend."

Without even looking Ria grabbed hold of his wrist and twisted it making him fall to his knees in pain, she looked so calm, her eyes a blood-red, "Touch me and I'll break every bone in you're body, touch him and I'll kill you."

"You're psycho," he scrambled up, holding his wrist which she had sprained, "You know you won't have a choice, you'll have to be with one of us anyway, might as well cut this act out."

"If you're late back to dad you know he'll just take his anger out on you," she didn't even look as they took Itachi away, her good mood completely vanishing. She stared at her food, everyone was silent, it was hard to speak when they could see how much pain she was in, "Well this has been a great birthday, I'll see you guys around," she picked up her untouched food and gave it to someone else before walking away, dejected.

"It's her birthday?" Kakashi whispered.

They all jumped up and chased after her, they found her sitting by the memorial rock, "Ria," Rin began.

She didn't move her head lowered, "If it's okay, can you all just leave me alone, I want to be alone, please."

They didn't have the heart to argue with her, slowly they backed away not knowing what to do, how they could help.

* * *

Kakashi was sitting in a tree, along with Jiraiya as they watched what was happening down below. Saratobi stood behind Ria, as she faced off Minato, "I don't particularly have any interest in becoming Jonin."

"Really, you want to remain a Chunin?" Minato asked her, surprised.

She shrugged, "I didn't really care about becoming that either, it makes no difference to me, it's all the same."

"All the same?" Minato repeated.

"All goals are the same, protect the village, earn money, promote the village, get more jobs, same cycle different tasks, that's all it is."

He frowned scratching his head, "Huh, I never thought about it like that."

She rolled her eyes, "And you're supposed to be Hokage."

Jiraiya snorted with laughter making Minato blush, "Still, I have been given multiple recommendations to promote you, but I have to test you first as personally I've never worked with you."

"If you must," she sighed, "What do I need to do?"

"You could try to show some enthusiasm," he made a face, there was not a hint of sparkle in her eyes, she seemed bored of it all, this was meant to be a momentous moment for a shinobi, sitting the final test to become a Jonin.

She crossed her arms pouting, "Kakashi never shows enthusiasm for anything and he made Jonin just fine."

Kakashi went bright red lowering his eyes at the mere mention of his name, Minato grinned, "Well Kakashi can do the Chidori, it is an A-Class level jitsu."

"If that's all, I can do it too," all eyes widened aside from Hiruzen who just smiled as Ria's left-hand burst into the Chidori without even hesitation.

"You can do Kakashi's Chidori?" Minato gasped.

"It was a lot harder than this," she put out her left hand making both Kakashi and Jiraiya fall out of the tree as the Rasengan materialized in her hand making Minato stare, "This was easy. I can't believe it took you three years to master."

"But, I uh…" he stuttered she burst into giggles and ran hiding behind Hiruzen letting both jitsu's disappear,

"You were right, that was funny."

Hirzuen chuckled as the three were still so shocked, "She can do both jitsu's simultaneously?" Jiraiya scrambled up.

"Well I told you she was talented, don't worry, she doesn't particularly like either of the jitsu's," Hiruzen grinned.

"What's wrong with my jitsu?" Kakashi jumped up annoyed.

Minato nodded, "And mine."

"It's not that I don't like them, I prefer finding ways to end conflict without violence, and both those jitsu's can't really be stopped. They are both ultimate combat tools. It's not my style," she explained still behind Hiruzen.

"What do you like then?" Minato asked her.

"Ice cream," she replied simply making Minato blush deeper and Hiruzen throw his head back and laugh wholeheartedly.

"I meant a jitsu, what is your style?" he repeated.

She sighed and put her hands together her eyes were closed for a second, when they opened they were in Sharingan mode, Minato gasped, he could see it, tiny little needles of chakra had swarmed around him, paused just millimeters from his skin, "Wind style," he breathed.

"I find it the easiest to control," she answered much to Kakashi and Jiraiya's confusion, "But Fire is my nature if I wanted to kill you I'd change it to that."

"Can you change it to any other nature?" he asked curiously.

She nodded, "Yeah, all five and simultaneously. I can convert it all into Amaterasu if I want too, but that's a pretty horrific way to die."

"Doesn't this leave you open to attack?" he was impressed by her skill wanting to know how far she had gone.

She shook her head, "I don't need to look at you to control it, I can spread its radius to about 100 ft around me."

"Where did you get the idea?"

"My Susanoo," Ria explained, "It's the Ultimate Uchiha Shield. Mines fully formed, I realized if a chakra form could protect me I could use it as a weapon on others so I just manipulated my chakra in a way similar to the Rasengan and the Chidori, I just happened to perfect a chakra nature and form change."

"What do you call it?"

"Gyaku-Susanoo," she answered simply, "Though technically it's not a Susasnoo as I don't need my Sharingan to do it. It's better that way I use less chakra."

"You are pretty impressive," Minato smiled, "I guess I can't do anything but promote you to Jonin level."

"Great," she muttered unimpressed, "Can I go now? I don't get much time at home to spend with my brother, I'd rather do that than hang out here."

"You can go," he chuckled, he had barely said the words and she was gone, he looked at Hiruzen, "You were right as always, the girl is a genius."

Hiruzen smiled, "Her heart is pure, she will serve you well as a Jonin, you can trust her."

"I knew that when she taught Kakashi how to use the Sharingan," Minato grinned, "She definitely has the aptitude to become a Jonin-sensei."

"Hear that Kakashi," Jiraiya elbowed him making him scowl, "Your girlfriend is pretty talented."

"I told you, she's not my girlfriend!" he cried out making Minato and Hiruzen chuckle.

* * *

Ria carried in the boxes with her new uniform to her bedroom, she didn't say anything to anyone as she left it there and went to join everyone for dinner. "What's with the boxes?" Mikoto asked Ria, curious as to what she had.

"Uniform," she replied softly keeping her eyes down.

"What happened to your old one?" Mikoto frowned, "You can't have grown out of it already."

She shook her head taking a mouthful of rice, "It's a new one."

"Why?" she was still confused.

"I got made Jonin today," she answered as if it was a normal thing, both Fugaku and Mikoto choked on their food making Ria frown and look at them as they spluttered,

"What?"

"I got made Jonin, well actually it was yesterday but I got my uniform today, I have a mission in the morning so I won't be here," she carried on eating.

"Did you just say you got made Jonin?" Mikoto repeated in shock.

Ria nodded slowing her voice down, "Yes."

"But you're only 10 years old."

She shrugged, "And…apparently loads of Jonin's recommended me so the Fourth Hokage made me do a test and he passed me and I got promoted."

"Why didn't you say?" her eyes brightened with pride.

Again she shrugged, "It's not exactly an achievement, Kakashi was Jonin when he was 9," she scoffed down the rest of her food, "I need to sleep, got to leave early, night mum, dad," she left the table going to her bedroom. Both parents watched her leave, Fugaku couldn't help but smile internally, his little princess, she was the youngest of the Uchiha to have become a Jonin, she was also the youngest kunoichi to have ever become a Jonin in Leaf history. He was so proud of her, he couldn't even put it into words, it all sounded fake. Ria frowned when she got to her room, "What are you two doing here?"

Shisui and Itachi were sitting in her bed grinning, "Sleepover," they chanted.

"You should already be asleep," she went to her bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for bed, "Mum's going to be mad."

"We want to sleep with you," they smiled batting their eyelashes at her, "Please."

"You have your own bed," she scowled returning, she was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, "Try sleeping in it and maybe you'd like it."

They shook their heads simultaneously, "Nope, sleep with you."

"Fine," she got into bed with them, "But no talking, I have work tomorrow, so I have to sleep."

"Won't you play with us tomorrow?" they whispered softly cuddling up beside her.

"I can't tomorrow," she replied in the same softness, "But when I come back, we can play all day."

* * *

Kakashi scowled at Jiraiya crossing his arms, "What kind of training is that?"

"Are you chicken?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "Little Genius Kakashi Hatake is scared of giving a girl a hug."

He turned away, "I'm not chicken, I just don't see how it has anything to do with training."

"Well if you can't see that, then you're not the genius Minato said you were," Jiraiya sighed glancing at Minato, "We all did the deed and this kid is chickening out."

"You did it too?" Kakashi looked at Minato who blushed rubbing his neck,

"Yeah, it's pretty ruthless training, if you're too scared then it doesn't matter…"

"No, it matters," Jiraiya grinned, "If we continue to train you then you have to pass this test."

"Fine, I'll just go hug Rin," he groaned ready to go and find her, Jiraiya pulled him back a glint in his eyes,

"No, no, no," he wagged his finger, "Not that easy. You have to pick a girl you actually like."

Kakashi frowned, "What do you mean? I do like Rin, she's my friend."

Minato smiled, "What Jiraiya means is that you have to hug someone you like more than as a friend, surely there is someone?"

"There must be a girl that you like," Jiraiya's eyes glinted, "So tell us."

"There isn't," he said quickly, turning away from them, "Girls are boring."

"What about her?" Jiraiya gestured over towards a girl leaning against a fence, she was wearing the Jonin uniform, her eyes closed, one knee bent her foot resting against the fence behind her, her arms crossed a finger tapping a beat. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, he hadn't seen her in such a long time Ria was one of the busiest Jonin's in the village, the youngest ever Kunoichi-Jonin her special skill set along with being a female made her perfect for many missions unsuitable to others. Her hair had grown, it was smooth and soft, glinting in the light with that black and blue tint, she had also gained a few more inches but was still a little shorter than him.

"Her?" Kakashi repeated his heart began to race.

"Yeah, that's the Uchiha girl isn't it, the Jonin, she'd be perfect and she's cute, so go hug her. Right now," Jiraiya grinned evilly.

"Are you crazy?" Kakashi stared at him, "She'll kill me!"

"Exactly," Jiraiya pushed him forwards, "Go hug her or you'll be a chicken for the rest of your life."

"I'm not a chicken," Kakashi snapped, "Fine, I'll do it," he tensed his jaw and went over to her, she hadn't moved a muscle even when he stood in front of her, "Ria," he began suddenly she put a finger against his mouth, he went bright red, his body trembled, he barely said a word. After what felt like an age she pulled an earbud from her ear and opened her eyes glancing at him bored,

"What do you want?" she asked coldly, "You're eye bothering you?" she tapped the forehead protector hiding his Sharingan.

"Um no," he replied, the nerves in him were making him sick.

"Then what?" she crossed her arms.

"I was just um, doing some training with Minato-Sensei and Master Jiraiya…"

"I can see that," she muttered, "They aren't exactly hiding."

He reddened, knowing they weren't far away watching with wide eyes, "Well yeah and I uh, part of this training," he rubbed his neck, he was blabbering and it was completely out of character.

"Well this has been a great chat," Ria patted him on the shoulder before turning to leave, "But I've got better things to do than listen to you and your fascinating training regime."

Kakashi saw Jiraiya mouth, "Chicken," at him which made him scowl.

"I have to hug you!" he shouted at Ria.

She stopped and frowned, turning back on her heel she crossed her arms, "What?"

"I have to hug you," he explained, "It's part of my training."

"What will that achieve?" she asked.

"I don't know," his shoulders slumped, "They won't tell me, just said I had to hug you…"

She made a face, "Then do it."

He stared at her, "What?"

Surprising everyone, Ria grabbed Kakashi pulled him towards her and hugged him, "Stupid Kakashi, your Sensei gives you an order you're meant to follow it," she let go and walked off, "Bye."

Jiraiya and Minato stared at Kakashi, he was too stunned to move, when she left they came over to him, "Are you like the luckiest kid alive?"

"Wait for it," Minato grinned, and then it happened, Kakashi fainted into his arms unable to handle what had happened.

Jiraiya was laughing his head off when they carried Kakashi back to Minato's place, he woke up sulking, Jiraiya was rolling on the ground whilst Minato and Kushina tried their best not to laugh out loud.

"It's not funny, I should have known it was a joke!" Kakashi crossed his arms.

"It wasn't a joke," Minato shook his head, "We both did it, it's actually quite good training."

"There is nothing like facing the fear of hugging a beautiful girl," Jiraiya grinned.

Realization hit Kushina she looked at Minato, "Is that why you hugged me that day?"

He blushed and reddened, "And you broke my nose," she giggled.

Jiraiya sighed, "I hugged Tsunade and she broke nearly all the bones in my body."

"At least there isn't a scratch on you, that was really lucky," Minato smiled warmly ruffling Kakashi's hair.

"Why didn't you just pick Rin, if it just had to be a beautiful girl?" Kushina asked Kakashi, "Ria could have killed you."

"I suggested that but they said it had to be Ria," he pouted.

"It had to be a girl that you liked and you Kakashi, like that one," Jiraiya grinned.

Kakashi crossed his arms tightly his eyes narrowed, "No I don't, I barely know her."

Jiraiya patted his head making him more and more annoyed, "If you didn't like her than you, kid, wouldn't have passed out after she hugged you. You would have treated it like you treat everything, an emotionless mission, but that girl, that girl makes you feel things you can't hide."

"Why don't you ask her out?" Kushina suggested.

"You're all crazy," he stuttered, "I don't have any feelings for her," he turned and ran away.

* * *

Ria landed neatly atop of the Hokage's desk her eyes dark red, ANBU jumped up expecting an attack, she ignored them her eyes on Minato she touched his shoulder, "Kakashi, now."

He understood the second she spoke, her voice was focused and urgent. They landed just as enemy forces began to converge closer to the dead bodies, Kakashi and Rin in the middle of it all, they were ready to attack so Ria did what she had to, to protect them all, she put her hands together and out-burst her jitsu, thousands of flaming needles that pierced through each of them annihilating the enemy forces whilst Minato grabbed a screaming Kakashi and dead Rin. He transported back leaving her behind as she dealt with the problem, he knew she would be fine as back up forces were on their way. As the forces took over she picked up Rin's forehead protector, she had only to glance at her just once to know there was no way she had survived.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

* * *

"You're only 17," Kakashi half carried the drunk Ria out of the bar, "You can't drink."

She fell against his chest her arms around him, his heart-beat madly, even now, even after all these years, she was the only one who could do that to him, "Don't you ever want to break the rules sometimes?"

"Not the law," he picked her up, it was easier than having to drag her, she put her arms around his neck snuggling up against him, making the blood rush to his skin.

"Do you ever wonder, if there is more to life than being a shinobi?" she asked as she walked away from the bar, he had no idea where he was taking her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do you ever think there is more to life than fighting, worrying, pain, losing people," he looked at her sharply,

"You're still hurting?"

"I'm always hurting," she replied simply, "It hurts being alone, it hurts seeing Itachi be forced into this world, to see my baby brother have to become like this too. There is just no choice, and it hurts. I haven't ever had any, so I guess whenever I do what I want, I'm breaking the rules and it became a habit. I want some choice, even a little," she motioned with her fingers, her words slurring, "I would like to choose to fall in love, to get married and be happy, to have children who can choose their own path and not have the pressures that I get. But that's not going to happen, not for me, I can't even give my brothers that choice how will I ever manage it for me? I don't deserve it."

"You do deserve it, you deserve to love and be loved, you deserve to be happy with whoever you choose," he said to her softly.

She smiled, "You're a good person Kakashi, I can see why as much as Obito hated you he respected you."

"Do you hate me?" he stuttered.

She closed her eyes, "No, I don't hate anyone."

"Do you like me?" he mumbled.

She giggled, "I think you're cute."

He reddened, "You do?"

She burst into more giggles, they were infectious and made him smile, he had never seen Ria so carefree, "I think I'm really, really drunk if Daddy sees me I'm so dead."

"We can do something about that," he headed off towards his apartment, "You can sleep this off at my place, just say you crashed at a friend or was busy training, or whatever lie you always make when you don't return home at night."

She laughed, "I usually just crash by the memorial rock."

"I know, but I think my place will be a little more comfortable, for you, especially with the hangover you are definitely going to have in the morning," he smiled.

"Aren't your neighbors going to be suspicious to see you carrying a girl home?" she mocked fake shock, "Kakashi Hatake has a girl in his room, at night!"

He chuckled, "I'm in the ANBU Ria, I know how to be covert."

She sniggered leaning up she whispered in his ear, "You take many drunk girls to your room?"

He reddened, "You'd be the first."

"I better be the only one, I get really selfish and jealous over things like this," she closed her eyes leaning against his chest, "You smell so nice," she mumbled doing nothing to help the increasing rate of his heart and that dark blush.

* * *

Kakashi leaned against his wall as he brushed his teeth, Ria was finally waking up, he sniggered when she sat up, groaning, her hair was a mess, she looked a mess, he had never seen Ria look like that. Tangled, blotchy and still half asleep, she grumbled, grabbed a pillow and threw it at him, "Shut up, my head hurts."

"Of course it does," he chuckled, "You drank like 3 bottles of sake."

"Your voice is so loud, I'm going be sick," she fell out of his bed and ran to his bathroom to throw up. He began busying himself, he had nowhere particular to be, his eyes widened when he heard her turn on the shower, she was naked only meters away from him, it made his heart pound. "You still have your Jonin gear from before?" she asked wrapped in his towel and wearing just her underwear.

"Uh yeah," he choked, not knowing where to look, "Why?" he gestured at his wardrobe, she didn't notice his reaction as she headed over, "Sweet," she grinned, "My clothes all smell like sake," she went through his things, found his old uniform and put it on, not batting an eyelid that she was semi-naked in front of Kakashi who quickly turned around squeaking. "You got a spare forehead protector, I can't remember where I put mine," she scratched her head thinking, "Oh yeah, I put it on Sasuke."

"You put your forehead protector on your brother?" he kept his back to her as he looked in his drawer to find his spare one.

"Well yeah, he's three. He was playing with my hair so I put it on him," she shrugged as if it was nothing, "He, Itachi and Shisui are the most precious people to me, whatever they want I can't help but give and he wanted to wear it."

"Here's my spare," he outstretched his hand to her, she turned her back as she put on fingerless gloves you mind tying it on, trembling he gave in and tied it on, his whole body was completely zoned in on hers, she was so close. She leaned her head back so she could see him from beneath, "Thanks," she grinned, "I gotta go, I have a meeting so bye," with that she disappeared wearing 90% of his things. It made his heart jump and electricity flood through his body. Why did she make him feel so much?

* * *

He saw her sitting in Ichiraku Ramen, she was still wearing his old jumper and forehead protector, it was clear she hadn't gone home, he went over and sat beside her, he didn't know why it made him so tingly to see her wearing his clothes. "Wow," he breathed seeing the redness of her eyes, "Still hungover?"

"I don't know what you mean," she muttered darkly, "I feel great."

"You haven't gone home yet?" he asked ordering himself some ramen.

She shook her head, "Just been handed 3 new Gennin," she pointed at the file in front of her, "But I'll probably just fail them, they aren't ready for this."

"Why do you think that?" he took the file and read it.

"They are too young," she focused on her ramen.

"You and I were both younger," he pointed out.

"I never really had a childhood, so I don't want to take someone else's when they are ready they'll move up, but for now they should focus on honing the basics. Anyway, I'd really like to teach my little brother."

"Itachi?" Kakashi frowned, "He's in the ANBU."

"No," she shook her head, "My youngest brother, Sasuke. He's just 4 right now, but when he graduates from the Academy I'm going to ask to be his Jonin, if I don't have a team by then."

"I thought you didn't want a violent relationship with your siblings," he remembered the first time he met Itachi and when Gai asked about his training.

There was a little sadness in her eyes, "I know, but by not training Itachi I couldn't protect him properly, I want to show Sasuke that there is more to life than being a ninja, that violence isn't his only option. I want him to be happy."

"You'll make a great sensei," he said softly, she glanced up at him, surprised by his words,

"You think so?"

Before he could respond two boys jumped out, "Rizzie!" they shouted.

She cringed and covered her ears as they hugged her, "Don't shout."

"Are you drunk?" Shisui crossed his arms narrowing his eyes.

"No," she shook her head, "I'm tired," she covered her face in her arms resting against the table, "And you're so loud."

"That's not your uniform," Itachi picked at her sleeve, Kakashi looked away not wanting to get involved, this could get awkward.

"That's a mans-size," Shisui gasped leaning in.

"And you didn't come home last night," Itachi pointed out.

Shisui covered his mouth his eyes wide, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Ria grabbed hold of them both covering their mouths and pulling them on her lap, "Stop talking, my head hurts. And you both sound like two old women, gossiping and second-guessing. It was a busy night, I actually do work you know, I didn't have enough time to go home and get changed so I borrowed a uniform off of a friend. Now please shut up."

"Is that friend a boyfriend?" Shisui sniggered his voice muffled by her hand over his mouth.

"I don't need a boyfriend," she kissed his and Itachi's cheek making them both giggle, "I have an annoying cousin and an even more annoying brother to love instead."

* * *

Kakashi went over and teased the bottle out of Ria's hand she frowned watching him, "Please, for me, stop drinking."

She moaned, "But drinking helps me calm down, there is just too much in my head."

"But drinking is just hurting you, you're underage as well, and I don't like seeing you like that, please it hurts," his voice was soft, he was so close to her.

"I don't know what to do, nothing else works," she mumbled, "I'm so lonely."

"You have me," he whispered to her.

She lowered her eyes to her leg, where his hand was holding her thigh, he looked down and squeaked, going red, "I'm so sorry, I didn't…" she grabbed his wrist and took off his glove, he had no idea what was happening, she put his bare hand on her leg, her hand over his, he panicked, "What are you…?"

"It feels nice," she mumbled, "It doesn't hurt."

"I would never hurt you," he was sad to hear she thought she would feel pain.

"No," she looked up, her eyes on him, "When I'm with you, my head doesn't hurt," he reached out and brushed her hair from her face, it was such a sweet gesture, she smiled, "That feels nice too."

"Are you drunk?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head, "No."

"Will you stop?" he kept his hand on her cheek, the other still kept down on her leg, her skin was so smooth.

"On one condition," she leaned in closer to him, he was surprised by the cheekiness evident in her eyes, "I want to know what a kiss feels like, so kiss me and I'll stop."

"What?" he squeaked.

"Oh come on," she grinned, "Don't be shy."

"Are you sure you aren't drunk?" he asked, trembling a little.

"Definitely not, I promise," her eyes sparkled, "I won't do anything stupid like fall in love with you, I just want to know what it feels like."

"You've never been kissed?" he was stunned by that revelation, she was the most beautiful person he knew, there were so many boys and men throughout the village who lusted after her.

She shook her head, "Have you?"

He shook his head, she smiled and moved closer to move him and gently lowered his mask, he was too afraid to move, he had never felt fear like this, his body shutting down, "Too slow," she whispered before kissing him. That's when it hit him, it wasn't fear he was feeling, it was the opposite, it was excitement.

She giggled when they broke apart, but didn't move away from him, her eyes locked on his, he was breathless, then he frowned, "Wait, why would it be stupid to fall in love with me?"

She grinned, "Well you are Stupid Kakashi."

"Why do you keep calling me stupid? I'm not exactly…"

Ria interrupted, "Talking and not kissing me back is pretty stupid I think."

He blushed deeply, "You want to do it again…" he barely finished his sentence when she kissed him again, she stopped pulling back all of a sudden,

"Wait…does this make you uncomfortable, have I crossed…" this time Kakashi kissed her, crushing her towards him it was so much more than their previous attempts, this one flooded a sensation in Ria that she never thought she would ever feel. They both breathed heavily keeping close, their noses brushing against one another's she had a blush cover her neck and her cheeks, "Don't stop," she mumbled letting him kiss her again with even more passion than before, her hands going into his hair everything was new, everything was exciting and everything they did was addictive.

* * *

"You have the Mangekyo Sharingan?" Kakashi was surprised as he saw Ria's eyes.

She crossed her legs sitting beside him wearing only her Jonin jumper, she nodded, "Since I was 4."

"Don't you have to have killed your best friend to activate it?" he asked her, he didn't know who Ria could possibly have killed by the age of 4 to have activated it.

"Not really, I just saw my best friend die," she mumbled.

"Who?"

She blushed, "Daddy and I didn't always have a bad relationship. We used to be very close," she smiled sadly, "I was his princess, we used to play all the time, we used to be happy. One day I found this little puppy, it was beautiful and tiny and I loved it, I love dogs," her eyes sparkled surprising him further, he didn't know this about her, "I named him Gray, he was everything to me, he was so weak so I fed him and looked after him. All the other Uchiha weren't too happy about it because we are meant to be linked to the ninja cats but I'm allergic."

"You're allergic to cats?" Kakashi stared at her.

She giggled, "Yeah. The Clan was so convinced I wasn't an Uchiha because I didn't have any of the usual traits, I didn't have my Sharingan then, Dad didn't care, he loved me just the way I was. Obito used to help me out with Gray," sadness filled her eyes, "Gray was my best friend. Then one day my Uncles took my puppy away from me, Dad did nothing to stop them, I still don't know why they did it, they kept Obito back as they killed Gray."

"They killed your dog?" he gasped.

She nodded, "In front of me, I got so angry, so angry and my eyes changed, I jumped right into Mangekyo Sharingan, I nearly killed them all but that was when Dad hit me, it was the first time. After that day I wasn't his princess anymore, I could do nothing to make him happy, every act I committed was a grave insult. At least it proved that I was an Uchiha. I spent years training under their regime, it wasn't long before I became better at it than them, I wouldn't let people hurt me, but Daddy…I still love him, I still hope that one day he'll go back to being my Dad and not someone who hates me," a tear fell from her eyes making her laugh, she rubbed it away, "Why am I always crying around you? I'm not such a loser."

He leaned over and kissed her, "I don't think you're a loser, I like that you feel comfortable around me. And I have something you might like," he bit his thumb and conducted the summoning jitsu, she frowned confused as to what he was summoning just then his ninja hounds appeared, her eyes brightened immediately.

"What do you need Boss?" Pakkun yapped.

"I wanted Ria to meet you guys, Ria these are my boys," he introduced them.

They looked at her, waiting for her reaction, she smiled and breathed, "You're all so beautiful," her words made them blush, the way she looked at them, the respect and adoration she had, greatly affected them.

* * *

Ria returned angrily back to the ryokan, she got dressed back into her usual cheongsam taking the yukata off, she grabbed her bag and left. Kakashi caught up with her, "Hey, hey, where are you going?"

She scowled turning away from him, "You're embarrassed to be seen with me."

"What?" he squeaked.

"You left me there when you saw Jiraiya!" she tensed her jaw, "I embarrass you," she was really hurt by it.

"What are we Ria?" he asked her, there was sadness in his eyes, his voice soft, "What are we to each other?"

Her shoulders slumped her eyes lowered, "I don't know."

"Neither do I," he replied, "So how am I supposed to explain what we are doing together?"

She turned around and faced him, "You can say we are friends, aren't we?"

"No one would ever believe we were friends, do you really want people to talk, for it to get to your Dad? You know how much he hates me."

She shook her head, not knowing what else to say, "Why is it so difficult to have a holiday? I don't want to have to hide every time we see someone we know."

He had come closer so was standing right in front of her, "I know," he said gently, "I feel the same," she looked up watching him with that innocence in her eyes, "Maybe joining in public festivals isn't for us, maybe we could do something different."

"What?" she was confused as to what he was referring to.

He smiled took her hand in his, "Come on, I'll show you."

They stopped at a secluded cliff face where Kakashi and her erected a tent and a fire, her eyes lit up, "Camping?"

He grinned rubbing his neck, "I know not exactly the luxury of an onsen, but at least we have some privacy."

"I love camping," she grinned forgetting the anger she had felt earlier in an instance, "When I was little really little Dad and I used to camp in our back garden so we could see the stars at night. Then me and Obito used to go together till he…" she couldn't finish the sentence her eyes on the fire, "When Itachi was little he and Shisui they used to crawl into my bed, they still do if I'm home and we'd make a little tent and play games till we fell asleep. Even now, the tradition carries on with Sasuke, he's scared of lightning…"

"So that's why you are never around when there's a storm," Kakashi sat beside her she nodded,

"I don't like it when he's scared, he's my baby brother, he's very special to me, all my brothers are."

"They are very lucky to have you," Kakashi smiled, his eyes on her.

She shook her head, "No, I'm lucky to have them. I think if my parents didn't have Itachi or Sasuke, even if Shisui wasn't born if I didn't have my brothers, I'd have left the village a long time ago."

"Why?" he was hurt at the thought.

"The shinobi life of violence and hate doesn't fulfill me, I don't get pleasure from the pain of others, regardless of the reason. Don't get me wrong, I love the village and the people in it, but to deal with the hate and darkness on a daily basis without my brothers is a step too far for me. I live to see them be happy, I fight so they won't have too, of course it's valiant to fight to protect those you love, your home, but we live in the world of war of fear and destruction. It's senseless. I know it's sad but I feel like its hopeless, but whenever I look at my brothers I think they will find a way to change this, they will find a way to heal the world, not break it. I can't wait for that to happen, and for that reason, for my brothers, I will always stay beside them, they will fight the curse that binds us all."

"Why don't you fight it?" he asked her, "Why do you think you can't?"

She smiled sadly, "I can't even fight the hate my father has for me, how am I ever supposed to fight anyone else's?"

* * *

The Academy was abuzz, it was a very special week, they were going to be taught a series of undercover lessons. The young boys were fixated on one of the female teachers, Ria, she was just so beautiful it was hard to look anywhere else. Despite being an active Jonin she was roped in to help out, she had undertaken many lessons only for kunoichi's due to being the highest-ranked kunoichi in the village. The girls were obsessed with her, she had such skill and style it filled them with bright-eyed admiration. All the boys had bought her a flower waiting for a chance to give it to her, it being Valentines Day after all. They were so struck, trembling as she and Iruka taught them the art of dancing, Iruka too found it really hard to concentrate anywhere other than at her. He couldn't believe how he lucked out to be the one who gets to dance with her. After they finished the demonstration, they turned to class asking them to pair up, as every boy jumped towards Ria, every girl aside from Hinata jumped on Sasuke. Iruka stepped in and forced people into pairs, leaving behind a dejected Naruto who felt his anger rise, he was about to run away when Ria performed a transformation jitsu making herself smaller she jumped over and landed in front of him,

"Can I dance with you?" she tilted her head innocently.

He went red staring at her, "You'll dance with me?"

"Sure, come on, let's show everyone how it's supposed to be done," she grinned taking his hand, he was so in shock, his eyes filling with tears as someone noticed him, someone older didn't hate him or push him away. He smiled brightly at the glares he was getting from everyone, they were all jealous. When they finished Ria returned to her normal state taking her place next to Iruka as everyone sat back at their desks, Shikamaru put his hand up lazily, "What was the point of that? Why learn to dance?"

Ria answered, "Your lives are about more than just becoming a ninja, never forget that you are all individuals with hopes and dreams, a future, to focus solely on one thing is ridiculous. You need to seek more in life, experience more than just violence and fighting. Some of us love to play shoji, other's read, we all have our vices. Anyway being able to dance will help all you boys to woo any girl, trust me a boy who can dance is leagues ahead one who can't," that made them all blush and the girls giggle.

Iruka stuttered, "And don't forget, it's a tool that can be used during undercover missions. Some of you may join the ANBU, or become a Jonin where this skill may be necessary."

After the lesson, Naruto gripped hold of a flower he had picked from the playground, he wanted to give it to Ria. He found her sitting on the floor in the corridor, sitting in between her legs, his back against her chest was Sasuke, Naruto ducked and hid behind a wall watching the two of them. Ria was going through a folder whilst he played with her hair, "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Going through the Gennin list."

"I thought you said you'd train me," he moaned.

She smiled, "I'm definitely training you, but I still have to go through procedures. Don't worry, you are all mine," she hugged him making him giggle, "And what are you doing with my hair?" she looked down at him.

He grinned, tangling his fingers in her strands, "Your hair always smells so good. It feels so nice."

"You're so weird," she muttered, "Come on little man, I'm all done, let's go bother the Hokage," she picked up Sasuke and put him on her back as they left. Naruto stared at the floor, of course this woman would be like the others, she would only ever care about someone like Sasuke, he was nothing. He ended up stumbling into the two as they ordered ice cream, he walked right into Ria's legs,

"Oh sorry," he muttered, staring at the ground.

"Hey Naruto," Ria knelt down facing him, he looked up reddening.

"You remember me?" he was surprised, Sasuke scowled from beside Ria, he had a tall ice cream in his hand.

"Of course I remember you, you're the cutest dance partner I've ever had," she grinned, she had two ice creams, in her hand, she bit one and passed the other to him, "You want it, I got too greedy."

"It's for me? Are you sure?" he asked her in shock.

"Of course, if you don't take it I'm going to have to eat it," she smiled and put it in his hand, his eyes welled up,

"Why don't you hate me?"

She frowned tilting her head, "And why would I want to do something as stupid as that," she ruffled his hair.

"You don't look at me like everyone else, they have so much hate in their eyes…" he began, she interrupted by kissing his forehead, it made him choke up, he had never felt such tenderness, it warmed his whole body up.

"Look Naruto, you can't dictate what people feel, the only thing you can do is be you, the best you and prove to them all that they are wrong about you. You want to be Hokage?" he nodded fervently, "Then become Hokage, don't let anyone ever tell you, you can't, because the only thing in your way is you. Just smile, and believe in yourself, stop caring about insignificant things like the thoughts of other people."

"You think I could become Hokage?" he stuttered.

She nodded, "Of course, if you really want something fight for it."

"Come on Ria," Sasuke tugged on her hem, "Let's go you said we were going to get some ninja tools."

"Fine, fine, you're so bossy Sasuke, you want to join us Naruto?" she asked him making his eyes sparkle.

"Yes," he couldn't believe it, not only had he been given an ice cream, he was getting the opportunity to spend time with this beautiful Jonin. Sasuke pouted but soon gave in when Ria threw him on to her shoulders and took Naruto's hand as they headed to the shop, both boys had so much fun with her as she taught them all about the weapons in the store, usually Naruto would be thrown out in an instant, but this time, being escorted by Ria, they were nice to him. After they had fun buying tools Ria treated the two of them to dinner before taking Naruto home and leaving with Sasuke. For the first time in his life, he went to bed happy.

* * *

"What time is it?" Ria mumbled snuggling up against Kakashi, her eyes still closed, her arm resting against his chest. He smiled, running a hand through her hair,

"It's 6," he replied, "You have somewhere to be?"

She sat up, her eyes sparkling, "Today's finally come," she jumped out of bed, and pulled on her clothes.

"What's so special about today?" he watched her, she rarely woke up early and never that happy, she was definitely the lazy type.

"It's Mum and Dad's anniversary and Dad's taking Mum away for the weekend and they said I can look after the boys so I'm taking them out camping, no weapons, no violence, just family."

"A little holiday?" Kakashi confirmed.

"Yes," her eyes were so bright, "We are going to have so much fun. I'll see you when you get back from your mission," she got up and kissed him before leaving.

* * *

Kakashi frowned when Itachi dropped by on another branch, they were having a break before they returned home, "Weren't you supposed to go camping with your sister?"

Itachi was surprised that Kakashi was talking to him, "How do you know about that?"

"She mentioned it, she was really excited about going, what happened?"

Itachi was silent for a moment, playing with his kunei, "She was born an Uchiha," he answered, before he could say anymore both of them jumped up, they heard it, it caused them so much pain, without saying a word to their other teammates they ran.

* * *

Fugaku was sitting down getting ready to drink some green tea, his anniversary break ruined, he took one sip before the cup fell from his hands, that scream, it was hers, "Ria," he jumped up, not saying a word to his clueless wife as he ran towards that sound. She called for him, it was chilling, every muscle in his body ripped, he stumbled gripping tight the doorframe of the Uchiha Clan Secret Meeting Place, his daughter, his little girl had her clothes ripped, left in a bloody mess in the corner of the room. She was violently shaking, her hands, her eyes had been sealed shut, she could no longer speak, his heart broke, he ran towards her and picked her up into his arms, he could tell she was struggling but couldn't break the seal preventing her from protecting herself. He carried her out, "You're safe Princess, you're safe."

Kakashi and Itachi were on the edge of the forest, their eyes wide in shock as they saw him carry Ria out of the building, it was clear from her state what had happened to her. Anger filled Kakashi, his protective instinct took over her hurried forward to Fugaku,

"We need to remove the Seal before it drains all her chakra," Fugaku was surprised to see him.

"You know this Seal?" Fugaku stared at him.

Kakashi nodded, "It's like the 9 Tails Sealing Jitsu, but that keeps the 9 Tails Chakra sealed, this is sealing hers she could die if we don't remove it quickly, please put her down, we are going to need both our chakra to unseal this."

He nodded and painfully lay Ria down, following Kakashi's movements and orders the two of them unsealed Ria, when her eyes finally opened there was so much fear in them, she let out a scream her shaking hadn't subsided a bit. Fugaku reached out to touch her, her reaction was to flinch, making him pause, then her lip trembled she fell into his arms holding him tightly, "Daddy, Daddy," she cried.

* * *

Ria finally opened her eyes, late in the evening, she was attached to so many wires, an oxygen mask on her face, the first thing she saw was Itachi, she touched his hand making him jump, he held on to her tightly,

"Don't ever scare me like that," he warned her, his eyes filling with tears.

Her lip trembled, she hated seeing him in pain, she looked about seeing Shisui fast asleep beside her but no one else, Itachi realized who she was looking for, "Dad made him leave but don't worry, he's sitting on the roof, he promised you he wouldn't go," he had no idea why Ria felt safer with Kakashi then at home, but chose not to question it, she had been through so much already.

"Itachi," a soft voice came, it was their mother, "Take Shisui and Sasuke back home, Ria needs rest."

"But…" he began he didn't want to let go of his sister, the look in his mothers eyes said enough, he nodded and went over kicking Shisui awake who jumped up panicking his kunei out, "We got to go home, come on."

"But…" Shisui stopped halfway when he saw Mikoto, he lowered his head and followed Itachi out.

Mikoto was silent for a moment then went over to Ria, taking a deep breath as she began to sort things out, trying to keep herself from thinking too much, Ria watched her, finally she looked at her daughter, reaching out she brushed a hair from her face, "I know what a miscarriage looks like Ria."

Ria was silent her eyes still on her mother, she couldn't speak, a tear slipped from her eyes, falling across her cheek, Mikoto tensed her jaw, blinking back her own tears, she took a deep breath, "Please tell me you weren't hurt before, please tell me it was your choice…" her voice broke as Ria nodded bursting into tears, Mikoto hugged her tightly soothing her daughter,

"Don't tell Daddy," her voice was raspy and muffled from the oxygen mask.

"I won't, I won't, I love you," she held her closely not wanting to let go of her.

The tears streamed freely, her body trembling, "I lost it, I lost it," her heart rate racketed, Mikoto tried her best to calm Ria down but she was inconsolable she suddenly began having a seizure, all the monitors going crazy,

"Ria," Mikoto shrieked as doctors and Fugaku ran in, both frantic parents were pushed out of the room so they could resuscitate her, luckily her heart began beating again but to prevent another seizure they put Ria under a medically induced coma. It was painful for the whole family to see Ria in such a condition, to know what she went through, only Mikoto and Kakashi knew the extent of it. He slipped in late one night, not once despite the ranging weather did he leave the rooftop, he promised Ria he would stay beside her and that was exactly what he was going to do. He stood next to her hospital bed, she was still in her coma but was breathing unassisted, it was a good sign, his hand found hers, seeing her in this way was unbearable for him. A tear fell from his eye on to her hand as he held it in his, "Please don't leave me," he whispered to her, his eyes were lowered, he couldn't handle the thought of losing anyone else, especially not her. To not see her smile again, to not hear her voice or touch her skin, to talk or laugh without her, it was unimaginable, he didn't want that life.

"Stupid Kakashi," Ria mumbled her eyes flickering open as she squeezed his hand gently, his eyes shot open to hers', she was awake, "I couldn't leave you even if I tried."

"You're okay?" he touched her cheek with his other hand.

She nodded her eyes on his, "Thank you," tears slipped down which he immediately brushed away, "Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't talk, just rest."

"I'm sorry," her voice broke, he stopped her by kissing her forehead,

"Just get better. I know 3 boys and a bunch of ninja hounds who can't wait to see you out of here soon."

* * *

Mikoto jumped up when she saw Ria getting ready, she had been home for 2 days and now she was dressed in her Jonin uniform, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Work," she replied simply tying on her headband.

"But you just got back from the hospital, you should be resting," she followed her calling for Fugaku,

"What's all the commotion?"

"Ria is going back to work," Mikoto pointed at her, "Tell her she can't, she has to rest."

"I've done enough resting," she pulled her shoes on knowing both her parents were watching her, everyone in the Clan was watching her, they all knew what had happened.

"She can't be well enough to go out on missions, not after…" Mikoto panicked but Fugaku stopped her putting his hand on her shoulder, she looked at him, her eyes filled with worry.

"I am an Uchiha, and Uchiha's don't sit and sulk it's pathetic," she stood up, and disappeared not saying another word.

Itachi and Shisui blocked Ria's way out of the Uchiha Quarters, their katana's out, she tilted her head, "You know that's not going to work."

"You're not going back to work," Itachi's lip trembled, Shisui nodded, "You're going to go home and you're going to stay with us and you're not going to get hurt," his eyes filled with tears, Ria walked over and knelt down to their height touching both of their cheeks,

"If you cry, I'll start crying and you know I hate being such a loser."

"I didn't protect…" he began.

She stopped him, "Look Itachi, Shisui, you can't stop any bad thing from happening. It's impossible."

"Stop being a Jonin and come home," he demanded, "Then you'll be safe."

She smiled, "I was at home when it happened, Itachi, home is where I least feel safe. I need to work, I need a purpose it's the only thing other than you two that keeps me sane. Please understand, I love you, I love this village, protecting it, protecting you is all I have, don't take that away from me. I wish things were different, I wish none of us had to do this, but this is the hand dealt to us, and I want to do this, for me, the only thing you two can do, is be happy, be my brothers and trust me."

* * *

Ria took back to back missions for months, rarely dropping by at home for a bite to eat and to have a shower before leaving again. Finally, things began to return to normal, her first night in her room, made her family relax. Soon, she could handle a whole day, a weekend, a week. She stood by the memorial rock, her head lowered, she felt Kakashi arrive beside her, she turned to look at him and her eyes widened, he smiled rubbing his neck shyly,

"What do you think?"

"You, you've transferred?" she whispered in shock.

He chuckled, "Well not exactly, I got transferred, Gai, Kurenai and Asuma kind of convinced the Third to move me back."

"You're going to be a Jonin-sensei?" she breathed her eyes sparkled.

He nodded, "Yeah, I guess so."

She jumped into his arms, hers going around his neck as her face broke out in a smile he held her close, "We can fail students together!" there was so much excitement in her voice.

That made him laugh so much as he looked down at her, "That's not exactly the job description."

"I know," she grinned, her eyes were sparkling, "You don't know how happy it makes me that you moved, that means that Shisui and Itachi can have a chance too. I can't wait to work with you," she reached up and kissed him. Kakashi blushed it was the first time Ria had kissed him since her attack, and the first time ever in open ground. Neither knew that Saratobi-Sensei and Shisui had seen them together, Shisui was the one most in shock. He couldn't believe it, his beloved older sister, was in a relationship with Kakashi Hatake, the infamous Copy Ninja?

* * *

It was another festival in the village, there was that distinct buzz that only a big party could cause. Ria was scowling as she carried a big box of paperwork, she slammed it down on the floor as she waited to pick up another parcel. Kakashi and Gai spotted her, "How come you aren't ready for the party?" Gai asked her, both of them were wearing their yukatas.

She crossed her arms pouting, unlike them she was still in her full uniform, "I would be if the stupid old man wouldn't just push off all his work on me!"

"What has he got you to do?" Kakashi asked, peering into the box.

"Grouping Gennin into teams with sensei's and organizing the next Chunin Exams, it's not like I have free time to be doing paperwork, I have missions too. He needs to decide does he want me to be a pencil pusher or an active shinobi or a teacher!" she kicked the box, "And he wants me to get him some rice cakes!"

"We'll help you out," Kakashi said softly, "You go get ready for the party, I'll get the rice cakes and later we'll go through this paperwork, neither of us has any active missions to focus on, right Gai?" he glanced at Gai who reddened as Ria looked at them both with hopeful eyes, he rubbed his neck grinning,

"Sure anything for you, Ria."

She smiled brightly and hugged him, "Thanks, I owe you both so much!" she kissed him on the cheek making him turn an even darker red, as he nearly passed out. Ria turned to Kakashi and kissed him, though dangerously close to his lips, turning his cheeks pink as well, she grinned her eyes on his, she loved that she could make him do that even after everything they had done together, "I'll find you both later, bye!" she ran off leaving them in the street watching her run away.

* * *

Sasuke slid Ria's bedroom door open just a little, he knew she was in, it was fairly rare for her to be home, but he knew how much she loved festivals that she wouldn't want to miss this one. "What do you think Sasuke?" she asked him he blushed looking at her, she was dressed in a summery yukata, the blues and whites shone brightly against her skin, she looked truly beautiful and happy.

"You look amazing," he mumbled, he too was wearing a yukata but it was untied at the front, she took his hand and pulled him in further to her room as she knelt down and began sorting out his clothes.

"What's the matter?"

He looked sad glancing at the floor, "Big brother keeps ignoring me."

"What do you mean?" she tilted her head.

"I wanted to train with him and he always says not now Sasuke, it's never the right time, he doesn't like me," his lip trembled.

"Of course he likes you Sasuke, he loves you, Itachi just gets scared teaching you jitsus," she said softly.

He frowned, "Why would he get scared?" he demanded, "He's in the ANBU a Captain, he's not scared of anything. He's like you."

"I'm scared of a lot of things, Sasuke," his eyes widened as he stared at her, she touched his cheek gently, "I'm scared of ever seeing you hurt, even when a little scratch is on you, it scares me. And I know Itachi feels the same. The thought of anything happening to you, him, Shisui, Mum or Dad, those things, those things keep me awake at night. Just give Itachi time, he's just not confident that he can safely teach, it has nothing to do with him not believing in you, or thinking you aren't ready. You're probably going to be stronger than both of us and you'll teach us cool new jitsu's."

"How do you always make everything better?" he pouted, "I wanted to be angry with Itachi."

She giggled making him blush, "Oh Sasuke brothers will always find a way to get angry at one another, but never forget whatever you two do, or say, you will always love one another and I, I will always love you," she kissed his cheek as he giggled.

"What's going on here?" Itachi asked leaning against her doorframe.

Ria rolled her eyes sighing, "You two are exactly the same, can't even dress yourselves, come here Itachi."

He reddened and shuffled in, Ria sorted out his clothes and tied his yukata on properly making him scowl, "I'm not a little kid…" she hit him on the head,

"Yes you are," she put her arms around his neck resting her chin on his shoulder, "You will always be my little brother, we are going to be like 70 and I'll still call you my little Itachi and you're my baby Sasuke, my two brothers that can't even dress themselves."

"Where am I?" Shisui jumped through her window, all ready to go, "In your little fantasy."

She grinned, "You're my brother Shisui who at least can dress himself, you are my favorite," he beamed proudly whilst Itachi and Sasuke narrowed their eyes at Ria,

"What!"

Shisui put his arm around her, "Who can blame her? You two are useless at everything."

"Hey!" they said in unison, "We aren't useless!"

* * *

Kakashi stumbled when he saw Ria standing in his little kitchen she had her back to him as she busied herself chopping up vegetables, "What are you doing?" he stuttered.

She didn't turn around her focus on the food, "Cooking, obviously."

"You cook?" he stared wide-eyed.

She turned and glowered at him, "What's that supposed to mean? Of course I can cook."

"But I've never seen you cook before, you're always eating out," he went over to her, curious as to what she was making. She pouted and carried on, "Just because I've never cooked for you before, doesn't mean I don't know how. I love cooking, I just don't get much access to a kitchen."

"Then why are you cooking today?" he asked her.

"Because I felt like it," she replied simply not adding much more information.

* * *

Ria was sitting on Kakashi's bed watching him, she looked so sad, he frowned and went over, taking the place beside her, "What's wrong?"

"I did something stupid," her lip trembled.

"What?" he panicked.

"I said I wouldn't but I can't help it," she replied making him more confused,

"Can't help what?"

"I wasn't going to be like all those stupid girls that go crazy about you, who dream about you, I wasn't going to be like that…but…" she glanced at him, "I love you," there was a little fear in his eyes.

He stared at her in complete and utter shock, "What?" he mumbled.

She covered her face, "I know, I'm such a loser. I told myself I wouldn't do anything as stupid as that, but whenever I'm with you, I'm happy, I feel safe and I want to stay. I'm so sorry, I'm an idiot I know…"

He hugged her making her look at him, his eyes sparkled, "You're not an idiot, or stupid or a loser."

"I am," she groaned hiding in his chest, "You're Stupid Kakashi! I wasn't going to fall for you."

He chuckled, "But you did."

"Don't be mean, you have no idea how traumatizing this is for me," she hit him but stayed in his arms.

"You have no idea how happy you make me," he smiled making her blush hard. When she fell asleep he rifled quietly through his things, he didn't want to wake her, but he couldn't sleep until he found it. When he finally did he was too jittery to sleep, she woke up lazily again, it was so nice to see her back to her usual self. She tried to get out of bed but he pulled her back making her giggle,

"What is it, I'm hungry," she moaned.

"You take forever to eat and I need to ask you something," he sat up making her sit up with him.

She waited patiently rubbing her eyes, "What do you want?"

He took her hands in his, she looked up, she had never seen him act like this, he looked nervous, "I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to say this to you, being Stupid Kakashi after all…" she giggled, "I love you," she stopped smiling her eyes widened, "I have been in love with you since the moment I met you. I never thought I'd ever get you to notice me, to say you felt the same way, you make me so happy."

"You make me happy," she smiled brightly.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he put a box in her hand making her eyes widen more so, she choked, "Maybe would you like to spend yours with me?"

"Yes," she answered immediately making him stare back at her,

"You'll marry me?" he stuttered.

"Yes," she repeated her eyes on him, "Yes, I love you, I love you," she put her arms around him and kissed him making him hold her closer,

"I love you," he had never felt happier than in that moment.

He put the ring on her finger, he couldn't stop smiling, "When I get back from my mission," she touched his cheek, "We are going to go meet my parents, I want everyone to know that you're mine."

* * *

The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow as he read the submission Kakashi had handed him, "A change of status," he mused, it was a private meeting between the two of them. Whenever a ninja entered or left a relationship he or she was instructed to submit official papers defining the parameters of such a relationship, as Ria was also a Jonin and they were engaged, he knew it was a formality he had to honor. It was the first official move he had made to announce he and Ria were together. "You chose wisely I see."

Kakashi lowered his eyes, "I hope this isn't an issue."

"It hasn't been so far, and you two have been together how many years now…?"

"7," Kakashi suddenly blurted out, then reddened, "Sorry, technically it wasn't an official relationship but now it is, so I'm just following procedure."

"I hope I'll be invited to the wedding," Saratobi smiled, "You two will be very happy together."

"Thank you," Kakashi bowed his head and stood up.

"Kakashi," Saratobi began, "They would all have been so proud of you, not only have you remained strong you have also kept your heart open."

He rubbed his neck shyly, "I have just been lucky to have met her."

Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma stared at Kakashi in shock, he seemed so happy, his eye so bright a massive grin on his face, they had never seen him like that even before when he was much younger, Kakashi was always withdrawn and sullen.

"What's wrong?" Gai asked, "What have you done with Kakashi?"

"Nothing," he shook his head, "I just..3 days from now don't any of you take up a mission, I have someone I want you to meet, I want to tell you all something just make sure you're free."

* * *

The rain was bitterly cold as it poured down on them, every Jonin and Chunin was present, along with all the Uchiha Clan, Kakashi felt nothing. Slowly people left, there was not much to do, there was no body to bury, just a name to inscribe along with all the others.

She was gone.

Soon he was the only one left, he was completely soaked through, he had no idea how long he had stood there, it felt like forever, how many times would he have to stand here, hear those words, how many times would he have to lose those he loved. When the last candle flickered out, he finally turned and walked home, passed his friends in the restaurant, passed the other villagers, everyone had moved on so quickly, but he, he couldn't even think. Each step was labored, he made it to his front door, his apartment feeling so empty, so quiet. He slipped his shoes off and walked into his room, on his table was an envelope, marked with the Hokage Seal, he opened it as he headed for his bed, that was when his legs gave way, he crumpled to the floor his body wracked with pain and tears as he cried, in his hand the official papers declaring his engagement to Ria, the Hokage had accepted it. It was the only thing he had left, proving his love for her. She was gone, and all that was left was this piece of paper, his name with hers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

* * *

It was a little awkward as the three sat together in that shady looking cafe, they had found a quiet spot, a fleeting moment to catch up and bond. Sasuke glanced to the side, his eyes were constantly on the lookout, scrutinizing everything and everyone.

"Me and Sakura," Naruto began, "We saw this old lady, she claims she's a witch."

"Witch?" Sasuke frowned, confused by the term.

"Yeah," Naruto's eyes widened, "She claims she can see the future…"

"I think she said the past, she sees what has happened, not what will," Sakura corrected.

Sasuke scowled, "What use is that?"

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged, "She just said that she could read the past of objects."

Sakura lit up, "Wait, maybe we can ask her to read the past of this," she pulled out a folder that she had carried along with her.

"What's that?" Sasuke's frown deepened, he recognized the Hokage's seal.

"Well," Sakura began, "I was helping Shikamaru with the old files in the Hokage's Office. And I found our Gennin selection file, this is the file of our Team," she opened it to show them, "It has all our Academy Records."

"Isn't that classified?" Sasuke tensed.

Naruto pulled it over to him so he could read his sections, "What?! I'm not stupid! Why are my intelligence scores so low?"

Sasuke sniggered, "You did fail like every written exam we ever did."

"Hey! That's not true!" Naruto argued, the two getting into a squabble, it made Sakura smile, she was hoping this would happen, she wanted them to remember the good times.

"Maybe this old lady, she might be able to read the past of this folder," Sakura suggested, "Maybe she will see something we don't know, or forgot, who knows, might be fun."

"Sure," Naruto grinned, "I've always wanted to know how magic works."

"It's probably nothing, a scam to draw people in," Sasuke scowled, then sighed as he was dragged over with the other two. This wasn't what he was expecting to be doing, but a small part was thankful, the meeting had become stilted, it was awkward, how could they just piece back a life they used to have, did that life ever truly exist? Being distracted by this possibility of magic was a welcome prospect.

They sat across a table, the woman was definitely not as old as Sakura and Naruto made her out to be, she didn't look like a woman from their lands though. She confirmed that as she looked at Sasuke, "I'm 48 and I'm from the East."

"What?" He tensed his eyes on hers.

"I can't read minds if that's what you're afraid of, but I can read body language and your face is screaming what you think," she answered him, "So, what do you want?"

"Is there anything you can tell us about this item," Sakura asked her sweetly.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, "What magic does it hold?" He was getting excited.

The woman looked at the folder, "I work with memories," she explained, "You're shinobi, so I'll be straight with you as you'd understand it a bit better. Chakra leaves a mark, and items hold that mark, it sort of lingers, I, and people from my clan we can reconnect with that mark, I can see the last major memory the item was embedded with. It's like Senjitsu. There isn't much combative use to it," she sniggered, "You really can't do anything with it other than make money by connecting people with the idea of magic and wonder."

"Can you connect with this folder?" Sakura asked, curious by this woman more and more, she could see that Naruto was a little bummed but Sasuke was now intrigued. If he could understand this woman's power as chakra manipulation he was more likely to accept it.

She touched the folder, "This item holds a very strong memory, memories," she frowned a little, "Unfortunately I can only extract the last big memory it holds, but I can tell it has passed through a few hands, would you like to see that memory?"

"See?" Naruto repeated, confused.

"My Jitsu, I can share the memory with you, sort of like a Genjitsu I suppose, I can connect with the chakra mark and let us all see the past."

"Really?" He brightened up, "Let's do that! I want to know what memory is in this folder."

"Of course," she smiled, "I love this part. As much as this is work, seeing things that have happened is always exciting, I am a self-confessed busy body, are you ready," they held hands, Sasuke begrudgingly, and closed their eyes. It took a moment before that coldness filled the three and suddenly their eyes opened and they were standing in the Hokage's office. Naruto's heart fell when he saw who was sitting in the Hokage's chair, Saratobi Hiruzen, the Old Man himself. In front of him was the folder, lying there on his desk.

"Kakashi," he called out softly.

Just then Kakashi dropped down on to the windowsill, "Yes, Lord Hokage."

"Come here, I need to discuss something with you."

"Of course," he took the seat in front of the Hokage waiting to be addressed as the old man just watched him for a moment.

"You've been given a fair few students since you became a Jonin-Sensei, but you've failed every single one and sent them all back to the Academy."

"They weren't ready," he replied sharply.

The Hokage laughed, "Haven't I heard that line before, many, many, many times before. I have another team for you."

"A team?" Kakashi frowned, "The Academy Exams just finished, they haven't made the teams yet."

"Ah," The Hokage sighed, "But this Team was made years and years before today."

"What?" Kakashi was completely confused he took the folder from the 3rd and tensed, "Wait, this is…"

"The 4th always wanted her to mentor his son, and you know she had always demanded she would mentor Sasuke, she chose Sakura Haruno herself, to balance the team out. This was the team she chose. Her perfect team."

"What?" he stared, a coldness filled him, he was not expecting this from the 3rd Hokage, to hear those words.

"She was excellent at judging character and skill, I have to admit I never thought that she would find someone to balance those two strong personalities out. But she really did create a team that was perfect for her to mentor, a team balanced so well," he laughed lightly, "With both Naruto and Sasuke being who they are, greatness is expected from them, I was half expecting her to pick another child of legacy, a Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Ino. But she chose Haruno, she sees incredible talent in this young girl, a talent high enough to balance out those two. I wonder how she will turn out."

"What do you want…" Kakashi's eyes were fixed on the folder, his hands shook. It was hard to keep still.

"I never thought it would come to pass as she hoped, I mean Naruto passing the way he did wasn't what anyone was expecting…"

"Nothing happened the way she wanted it to," he dropped the file down, "She's not here. This is her perfect team."

"Kakashi, I want you to be their Sensei."

"No," Kakashi answered sharply.

"What? Why?" The 3rd frowned, "I thought you would want to…"

"What would make you think that?" there was a bitterness in his voice, a bitterness none of them had ever heard. Usually, Kakashi was cold or uninterested. He wasn't one to have dark undertones in his voice, especially not with a senior.

"Because of who Naruto is, of who Sasuke…"

"That's exactly why I don't want anything to do with this team, I cannot be the one that mentors this team, I can't do it," he stood up, "I decline."

"Kakashi," The 3rd stood up, "She would have wanted…"

"Don't tell me what she would have wanted," his voice came out rougher than he had expected it, "What she wanted was to be here, to be with him and she's not, don't make me take her place."

"I'm not asking you to take her place, no one is asking you to do that."

"I can't," Kakashi's voice broke, "I can't be what she would have been."

"Kakashi, if there was anyone else, any other Jonin that had what you have, I wouldn't be asking you to do this. I know, I understand…"

"Do you understand?" Kakashi asked him directly, "Do you? Do you understand what you're asking from me? If anything happens to them…I can't even look…"

"Naruto and Sasuke both need you, after her, there is just you, only you understand the Sharingan, only you know how to guide Naruto, you know what Minato wanted and what she wanted."

"Please don't do this to me," Kakashi pleaded, "I don't want their lives on my hands."

"Can you handle someone else caring for them?" The 3rd tensed crossing his arms, "I know what you do, I know how much you care, how much pain you are in every day, I see it, you might hide it from all those around you but I've seen you at your happiest and I have seen you at your worst. I didn't want to say this but you are forcing my hand, Kakashi you are not coping…"

"Of course I'm not coping," he snapped, "I lost everyone, every single one…"

"So have they," The 3rd added softly, "Naruto and Sasuke have both lost everyone as well. Don't you see, you need them as much as they need you," he picked up the folder and pressed it in Kakashi's hands, "You knew her better than anyone else. You know that there is no one in this whole village she trusted more than you, you have to be the one that guides him, both of them, the three of them. It is better that you are their Sensei than me assigning another Jonin, with you stalking them non-stop. You need to do this as much as it hurts, as much as you don't want to, you need to do this, she needs you to do this."

Kakashi snatched the folder from the 3rd Hokage, "This is the last time you ever use her to make me do anything."

"I promise," the 3rd nodded, relieved that Kakashi had accepted the folder.

"If they don't pass the bell test they go back to the Academy, I'm not making any special allowances for any of them. If I'm their Sensei, I do it my way."

The Hokage nodded, "As you wish."

"Is that all?" Kakashi asked stiffly.

"Yes, that's all."

Kakashi nodded and left. The memory ended, the three stared confused at what they saw,

"Who was the 3rd Hokage referring to?" Sakura frowned, "Who created us? I thought it was him, who is this kunoichi they keep referring to?"

_Who picked me?_

There was this weird feeling in Sakura's chest, in her whole life she had been compared to those two. She had always felt left behind and useless. How many times had she looked at the others, the named clan shinobi's and thought if they were more suited to her position? She had worked hard, so hard, nothing came easy to her, she wasn't bestowed with a kekkei-genkai, natural instinct or even a tailed beast. She was just a girl, thrown into a world she never felt she truly belonged. But someone did think she belonged. Someone thought she belonged enough to put her there, put her in this role between these two. A kunoichi.

Sasuke tensed, he looked at the woman, "Is there anything else you can read from this folder, a memory, further than that?"

The woman shook her head, "There are a lot of memories with this folder, but they are scattered memories, that was the strongest mark left. This item was definitely owned by a powerful person."

"If we took you somewhere, could you…could you tell me if you feel something there?"

"It really depends, is it an item, or a place?"

"You can feel memories in places too?"

"Depends if the chakra mark is strong enough," she answered softly, "Usually where war has happened, or death has occurred it is strong."

"There is someplace, I'd like you to try your Jitsu. Please," he was unlike himself, there was a vulnerability he rarely showed, it was enough to quieten both Sakura and Naruto who watched curiously as Sasuke took the woman to the old Uchiha Quarters. They had met outside the village gates but were not that far out. It was the first time in a long time that Sasuke had both ventured in the village and near his old home. This didn't seem to be a memory he would want resurfacing, they had no idea what he wanted. He paused outside a room, the door was closed. He put his hand against the edge and opened it, the dust flew up. It was clear the door had not been opened in a very, very long time. It was like any other room, nothing seemed to stick out much. Everything was in its place, untouched, precise but cold. It was oddly eery. The way the room seemed locked in a time that had long since passed.

"Is there something in here, anything that you can get a read on?" Sasuke asked the woman.

She walked around the room, "This is the same chakra mark."

"Same chakra mark?" Sakura repeated.

She nodded, "Chakra all has distinct flavors, the mark it leaves it's all unique to the bearer. The chakra mark of that powerful owner, the one who I couldn't read off the folder you had, it's here, in this room, it's everywhere, this was her room, wasn't it?" She looked at Sasuke who kept his back to her as he opened a wardrobe exposing all the clothes hung up neatly. It was clear right there, that this was a girls' room.

"Isn't that..." Naruto picked up a photo, it was covered in dust, he had blown on it causing himself to sneeze as the particles shot up his nose. The photo was filled with happiness and lightness. He recognized Sasuke immediately, he was just a little boy, wearing a forehead protector which clearly did not belong to him, he was grinning madly as he sat in a girls' lap, flanking her side was the equally recognizable face of Itachi Uchiha. It was the first time Naruto had ever seen a real smile on Itachi's face, he looked just as happy, if not, happier than Sasuke was as he had one arm around the girl, his eyes sparkling. On her other side was a boy, another Uchiha he did not recognize but assumed was Shisui Uchiha. The one who died first. The one who sacrificed his eye to keep his village safe, the one whose will Itachi had kept going. He too, smiled so freely, had they known then? Had they known what their lives would become? How they would be seen in the shinobi world? Sitting in the middle, surrounded by the rarely happy Uchiha was a face Naruto was not expecting to see. A face he hadn't seen in so long that he, himself had forgotten about. Those gentle eyes, that smile. Just by looking at her face he could hear her voice, the way she took his hand and gave him that first moment of kindness.

"Ria, Ria Sensei?" Sakura mumbled looking over Naruto's shoulder, she remembered that kunoichi, she had taught them once or twice during their Academy days but that was so long ago she barely remembered her.

"She was my sister," Sasuke mumbled, answering the question he knew was on their lips.

"Ria Sensei was your sister?" Naruto stuttered it made sense now, he would always see the two together, the way Sasuke would sit in her lap and play with her hair, the way she treated him with such care and love. Of course, she wasn't some blown over Uchiha fangirl, she was an Uchiha, she was his sister, "Wait, you had a sister?"

Sasuke nodded, Sakura completely stunned into silence, "She was my big sister, older than Itachi. She was the youngest kunoichi-jonin, a legend in the Leaf, she never needed to even use the surname Uchiha because people across the shinobi countries knew and respected her for her power alone. She was always on missions but she never failed to make time for me, for Itachi, for Shisui. We were her brothers, we were the most precious thing to her. I remember when the Hokage told us she had died on a mission I got so angry, I tried to hit him, I thought he was lying, this sick twisted joke. Ria never breaks her promises, and she promised me she would come home, she was going to be my sensei when I graduated from the Academy, we were going to be the perfect team. Itachi and my parents were never the same after that, he didn't leave her room for a week. Even to this day, her room is exactly the way she left it. It felt as if all the happiness in the world had been taken from us. I would sneak into her room, half expecting her to be there smiling and asking me how my day went," he smiled, a sad smile, "Me and Itachi and Shisui, we would do that a lot whenever she was in her room, but for years Ria rarely came home."

"Why?" Naruto asked him confused.

"Shisui told me, once. Ria and the other Uchiha didn't get along, they hated her, she never listened to them and did what she believed in. She and Dad were always having fights, he would hit her," they gasped eyes wide, "It made me hate my Dad so much. I thought he hated her, he was always mean and horrible to her, I never, ever understood why. Only once did I ever see him hold her and tell her he loved her, something happened, I don't know what but it was the first time I saw her cry, I was only 5 years old and I wanted to go make her feel better but Itachi stopped me, he wouldn't let me see her. She spent a long time in the hospital, she nearly died then, I think she was sick but Ria never showed me her weaknesses, I thought she was invincible. When we heard she had died I was convinced she would come home, Dad didn't even cry, Mum got angry at him and they fought, she blamed him for her death, that he had driven her away. Then one day I came home from the Academy and I saw him crying in her bedroom, we never had a body to bury but we did get her forehead protector it was all that was left, it was covered with her blood. Mum had put it in a box and put it on her bedside table. He was just sitting there holding it and crying. I saw how much he truly did love her, how much he really believed, like I did, that it was all a lie and she would come home, he had lost her and that was the only thing he had left of her. I used to think Dad loved Itachi the most, and Mum would tell me that I was more special to him, but the truth was, neither of us could ever, ever mean more to him than she did. We could never be her, she was the center of his world, she was the center of mine, mothers', Itachi's, Shisui's. I would pray to her every day after Itachi…I would pray that somehow she would come home and fix all of this. Ria always knew how to make everything better."

The woman took a step forward and knelt down, there was a chest inside the wardrobe on the floor. It drew her to it, she opened it, the other three looking over her shoulder, she picked up a red ribbon and immediately the genjitsu began. The memory was forceful this time.

It was the jetty, by the river near the Uchiha Quarters, Sasuke hadn't been here since he left the village, he froze, his eyes wide he stared at what was in front of him.

"Put your hands together like this Princess," Fugaku showed the hand signs to Ria, she was only 2 years old, that red ribbon tied in her hair, he was kneeling on the ground his eyes bright and young.

"Then can we get ice cream Daddy?" she moaned.

He chuckled, "Yes, we can. Just try it okay, for me," he repeated the movements and she copied blowing out the fireball Jitsu for the first time, Fugaku stared in shock, her fireball was beyond impressive, it was the widest span and the hottest fire he had ever seen. Ria barely seemed interested, she reached up and pulled the hem of his shirt,

"Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream," she chanted.

He grinned, tapped her on the forehead, and picked her up throwing her into the air making her shriek with laughter, just then Mikoto arrived, she sighed, "What's going on here?"

"Daddy's going to buy me ice cream," she giggled sitting on his shoulders, "Aren't you Daddy?"

"You know all that sugar makes her hyperactive," she scolded.

"I think that's just her natural state," Fugaku grinned, "She's my baby and I can't break a promise to her."

"Come on Mummy join us, maybe I'll let you share mine," Ria's eyes sparkled.

Mikoto laughed, "Oh let's go then, now I'm craving it."

Fugaku grabbed Mikoto's wrist and pulled her towards him so he could sweetly kiss her, "My Queen and my Princess," he grinned making her blush.

"What the hell is going on?" Sasuke whispered, he didn't understand, why were they seeing this, he had no recollection of ever seeing his parents like this, this memory couldn't be real.

"These are the memories locked in these items, you don't know them because you weren't there, these are your sisters' memories," she picked up another item, this looked like a dog collar. It was dark grey and small, inscribed in the middle was the Uchiha symbol. Sasuke had never seen a dog collar with the Uchiha symbol, his clan was associated with cats and birds, not with dogs. It didn't make sense, they were pulled into another memory, the memory it held.

They saw a very young Obito being pushed to the ground nursing a bloody lip as Ria was kept back, a group of older Uchiha grabbed hold of a tiny little puppy, "Daddy!" Ria shrieked struggling in the arms of one of the Uchiha clan members, "Daddy, please don't let them hurt Gray, please Daddy! Daddy please," her voice broke when Fugaku just turned his back on her, she screamed with pain when they killed the puppy, it was horrific making the group wince and look away. Her eyes flashed a blood-red, activating her Mangekyo Sharingan, she made all of them aside from Fugaku fall down with the pain they had caused her, their ears covered, they too screamed, chakra burst out of her in waves. It happened so quick, one second her chakra was getting more powerful the next Fugaku, the only one aside from Obito who wasn't affected by her Jitsu, smacked her, hard, causing her to fall to the ground, blood in her mouth. Shock flitted in Fugaku's eyes, he hadn't meant to hurt her, he just had no idea how else to get her to stop, he tried to reach out to her but she flinched, fear in her eyes, she trembled, tears slipped down her cheeks, she had a bruise quickly forming on her face. She ran away from him grabbing hold of Gray's lifeless body before disappearing, leaving behind the collar, "Ria…" he whispered but she was gone.

"At least she is an Uchiha, she'll get over it Fugaku, we need to begin training her," one of the men got up, drained from her attack.

His eyes blazed, "Happy now? I've been telling you she is going to be more powerful then you all, instead of cultivating her talent you've just made her hate you all."

"She's too soft and you know it," he replied bitterly.

"And there is nothing wrong with that," he snapped, "There is nothing wrong with my daughter."

"It seems her softness is rubbing off on you, control your emotions Fugaku, you want your daughter to survive, you need to man up," he spat and walked off, followed by the others.

Everything changed, they were by the Memorial Rock, Fugaku was sitting on the edge of it, twisting the dog collar in his hand, Ria was fast asleep behind it. They could see the small mound she had dug, it was clear that she had buried her puppy right there. She looked so vulnerable, so hurt. Mikoto came over and sat beside him, "Why don't you just take her home?"

"If she finds out we know where she goes, she'll find somewhere else to run," he rested his head in his hands.

"Just talk to her, let her know you still love her," Mikoto assured him, "She needs to hear your side."

"I can't," he mumbled weakly, "Whenever I look at her, I see that fear in her eyes, I didn't protect her, I don't deserve to have her love."

Mikoto stood up, "You can fix this, don't let your twisted pride get in the way, I want my baby to sleep under the same roof as us. Bring her home."

As the Genjitsu ended Sasuke forced an old, small forehead protector into the woman's hands, he was getting desperate, he wanted to see as much as possible, he needed to know more. The memories were so strong, she couldn't help but abide by his wishes, it was as if each item wanted its story told.

This time Ria was sitting in her room tying her Leaf forehead protector on, Mikoto smiled softly, "Look Itachi's walking," sure enough they watched as the little boy went straight to Ria and dropped down on her lap.

"What are you doing?" she looked down at him, ignoring both her parents who stood by her bedroom door watching.

He put his little hands on her face, "I love you," he smiled then began to kiss her on her cheek making her shriek and struggle playfully,

"Eww, Mummy, Itachi's drooling on me, eww, cut it out, that's disgusting."

It made them smile with relief, Ria hadn't reacted much to having a brother, but it was clear that the two of them had a deep bond, she finally teased him off of her and sat him down in front of her, she looked down on her uniform, "Now look at what you've done."

Itachi looked sad, he had genuinely drooled on her jumper it had stains all over it, "Are you angry?"

She sighed taking off of her forehead protector, she tied it on his head making him stare at her wide-eyed, "I can never get angry at you," she kissed his cheek making him giggle, she then tapped his forehead just like her father used to tap hers, "I love you, you're my baby and nothing will ever change that. But I guess I'm going to have to change my jumper," she got up and pulled it off grabbing another one.

"Have you got a mission?" Mikoto asked Ria.

She shook her head, "No, Lord Hokage just wants me to do some paperwork."

"Take Itachi with you," she suggested, "You know he gets sad when you're gone for long."

Ria paused glancing at him, "Can I?"

Fugaku slipped away as Mikoto nodded, "Just make sure he eats properly and if he causes trouble just bring him home."

"You want to go and do some boring paperwork with me?" Ria knelt down looking at Itachi who grinned brightly,

"Spend the day with you?"

She nodded, "It'll be boring."

"Yes, I want to be with you."

"Okay then," she picked him up, "Let's go annoy the Hokage," she barely got passed the end of the street when she realized she was being followed, she glanced and sighed, "You want to come too, Shisui?"

He nodded, his eyes sparkling, Ria lowered down letting him jump on to her back, "What am I going to do with you two? I've become a glorified babysitter."

"But you love us," Shisui giggled his arms around her neck.

She smiled, "More than you two can ever know."

Once again, everything changed, this was something Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto recognized it was the playground in the village, where they all played when they were younger. They saw themselves, playing around, Sasuke suddenly ran, he had spotted someone walking passed, he ran and jumped on to Ria, she was older, 17 years old, she fell to the ground pretending to be tackled causing him to laugh happily,

"Rizzie, play with me," he demanded sitting on top of her.

She blew her hair from out of her face, "You want to play with boring old me and not people your age?"

"You're always so much more fun, come on Itachi doesn't play anymore, he's always so busy with Academy stuff," he pouted.

She propped herself up on her elbows, "The Academy is pretty boring, you want to spend as much time playing than doing that stuff."

"So let's play," his eyes were bright, "Or do you have a mission? You're always on missions, you and Itachi never have time for me…"

"You want to spend time with me," she smiled, "Then all you have to do is ask, no mission is more important to me than you."

"Really?"

"Of course, you wanna get some ice cream, first?" she asked, he grinned nodding so she picked him up threw him in the air making him giggle as they both ran off, they bought really big ice creams, they froze when they were caught by Itachi who was standing behind them, his arms crossed with Shisui.

"What's going on here?"

"Busted," Sasuke cringed.

"Aren't you supposed to be with the other kids?" Shisui asked, "And aren't you meant to be doing some errands for the Hokage?"

They turned around, "But Sasuke wanted ice cream."

"You know ice cream makes him hyperactive," Itachi scowled.

"No," Ria poked Itachi's forehead, "Ice cream makes you hyperactive," Itachi blushed whilst Sasuke and Shisui sniggered.

"I…I don't…" he tried to protest.

She smiled and passed him her ice cream, "Go on, you can have mine," he grinned and took it whilst Shisui moaned,

"What about me?"

She sighed, "I'll get you one too, you three are going to bankrupt me."

"But you said we were going to play?" Sasuke looked up sadly at Ria.

"Oh we will," she grinned, her eyes sparkled, "Let's play tag, me and you, versus Itachi and Shisui."

Tears slipped down Sasuke's eyes as he watched his younger self be so happy, he had so much fun with her, he couldn't stop laughing even when it rained, Ria played with them, they were so carefree, when they got home they made dinner together, both their parents were not home, they ate together before heading off to their respective rooms, Shisui bunking with Itachi. That night there was lightning, the sky roared with thunder, Sasuke was trembling his ears covered, he was scared of it. He jumped when he felt warm arms go around him, "Don't worry Sasuke, I'm here."

His lip trembled he turned and held on to her tightly, Ria smiled smoothing his hair down, "Please don't leave tonight, please."

"I promise," she assured him, "Just relax, you know I won't let any lightening hurt you, one day, you'll stand up to it and you'll show it who's the stronger one."

"You can't stand up to lightening," he scowled, "It's too strong."

"There is a boy in the village who can cut through lightening you know," she laughed, "And I'm sure my little brother will grow up to control it."

"But we are Uchiha," he mumbled, "We control fire not lightening."

"You are more than an Uchiha," she said softly, "You are Sasuke, you are my brother, you are a citizen of the leaf, a human of this world. Don't let anyone box you into one thing, don't let anyone ever tell you that you can only go down one path, I will always be there for you, being your little cheerleader because the most important thing is that you are happy, that's all I want."

"I love you, Ria," Sasuke smiled, "You always make the monsters go away."

"I can't get rid of those two, though," she chuckled as she looked up to see Itachi and Shisui holding their duvets and pillows,

"Camping time!" they grinned and ran over to create a den, they ended up playing games of make-believe until they all eventually crashed in a heap hugging her tightly.

Tears fell from Sasuke's eyes, Sakura was the first to speak, "I think we should stop."

"No," he shook his head, "No, I need to..."

"There is a memory, a dark memory in this room," the woman glanced at him.

Sakura glowered, "We don't need..."

"No," Sasuke stopped Sakura, "You feel it?"

She nodded, "Do you remember?'

He shook his head, "I just remember her crying...she never cried. But that day she was crying. Itachi...Mum...they wouldn't let me see her. I wanted her to stop crying, I wanted her to be happy, but they wouldn't tell me what was wrong. Why was she crying?"

"Let me try," she closed her eyes and touched the floor, the three of them putting a hand on her arm as instructed. They saw her, Ria. She was holding on to Fugaku, his eyes pained and dark as he put his strong arms around her, letting her cry.

"Daddy, Daddy," she cried out when he got up to leave her, "Please don't leave me," she held on to his hand. For that moment looking into her eyes, it was clear, he was deeply broken. He wanted nothing more than to pull her back into his arms and never let her move from there. She was his Princess. She was his baby. She was hurt. But he needed answers, he needed to know. So, without a word, he left. Unable to handle being alone in that room, she ran away. Going to the only place she ever felt safe.

As if in a trance, the woman got up and picked out a jumper, it was a basic Jonin jumper, it seemed attached to the memory they were watching and enabled them to see what happened next.

"You should be at home," Kakashi knelt down beside her, she was sitting on the floor in his bedroom.

Her lip trembled as she hugged him tightly, "Please don't leave me, please, I don't want to go back, I don't want to go back."

"I won't leave and I won't let anyone hurt you," he assured her, his jaw tense he kept his emotions in check, "But we do need to clean you up, and you need to sleep," she nodded and let him take charge, he gave her his clothes after her bath and then tucked her in his bed, sitting on the floor, he kept guard as she tried to sleep. Ria clutched her stomach, her eyes squeezed tight, her breathing became labored, Kakashi jumped up, she woke up and then began having a panic attack, her hands were covered in blood as were her legs, she was bleeding heavily.

"You're going to be okay Ria," he tried to calm her down as he picked her up, Shisui and Itachi joining as he headed off to the hospital, she clung on to him, in a lot of physical pain. Sakura was the only one who understood, she covered her mouth as the doctors treated Ria, having to attach her to various machines and an oxygen mask, she passed out, her heart rate slowing, they saw Fugaku chuck Kakashi out of the hospital room demanding better care for his daughter. They saw him leave, whilst Shisui and Itachi stayed, when Ria woke and was left with her mother, she hugged her tightly, her breathing wracked, "I lost it, I lost it," the panic caused her to have a heart attack, the alerts screaming, doctors rushed in to stabilize her, pushing Mikoto out who was crumpled in tears. They watched on as Ria went back to work after only 2 days of rest, she forced herself through the trauma, she forced herself to focus on something else, till her smile returned.

"Okay," the woman stopped the memories, "I think, for today that is enough."

"No," Sasuke began, but both Naruto and Sakura had to agree.

"Sasuke, remember it's a Jitsu, it's going to take a lot of chakra to do it, and she's used her Jitsu multiple times today, don't you think she needs a break?"

It was true, the woman was looking more bedraggled than she did before. Her age was beginning to show, the circles darkened under her eyes, her stance a little more feeble. His shoulders dropped, "Fine. Fine...have your break..."

They headed out of the Uchiha Quarters, night had fallen, luckily. That meant fewer people were out to notice Sasuke's presence. They were about to head to eat someplace, Naruto leading the group exclaiming loudly about his favorite ramen meal when she stopped. The woman.

"What is it?" Sakura asked her.

"The chakra mark is over there..." she had her eyes at a building far from the Uchiha Quarters.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke frowned.

"I told you, Chakra marks are distinct. Powerful memories are strong, I told you, death and war makes things easier to pick up. But the strongest memories, the ones that leave the biggest mark, are the ones that are filled with pure happiness."

"Happiness?" Sakura repeated.

She nodded, "Happy memories, they have a way of clinging to even the darkest shadows. It's like hope. All those other memories, they were tainted...but over there, there her memories shine the brightest."

"It doesn't make sense," Sasuke interrupted, "Why over there? What's there?"

"That's where all the shinobi without families live," Naruto scratched his head, he followed as the woman wandered towards it, she was drawn to this happiness, after seeing what they had, she needed to feel something happy.

"Hey, isn't this Kakashi Sensei's old place..." Naruto's voice faded when the woman touched the door, they hurriedly touched her to not be left out.

Pakkun weaved in and out of Ria's legs as she stood in the kitchen, cooking. "It smells good," he murmured.

"Of course it does, I know what I'm doing," she muttered.

"Ria," he began.

"Yes," she nodded whilst focusing on her task.

"When are you going to tell him?"

"Tell who, what?" she glanced at Pakkun, not understanding what he was referring to.

"You know what I'm talking about," he looked at her with an annoyed expression, "He's an idiot, he needs you to spell it out. You know how he feels."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she averted her gaze, going red.

"Don't make him wait forever," Pakkun said softly, "He will wait forever, we both know that, but don't make him wait when we all know you feel the same."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," she stressed, repeating herself.

Pakkun put his paws on her calf, "Please don't take forever to face the truth. I want to see you both happy."

"What's going on?" Kakashi asked, returning from his shower, he was dressed in his pajamas, his mask and forehead protector on.

"Dinner is ready," Ria presented him with the food, his eye widened.

"Wow, I don't think I've had a home-cooked meal made for me in years...definitely not anything this good," he was enthralled by everything.

"Why are you so surprised?" she made a face as she sat opposite him, "I'm perfect at everything."

He grinned, "I'm not surprised that you are good at this as well, I'm surprised you bothered to do this for me."

"Yeah well...I..." she lowered her eyes at her food, "Just eat Kakashi, you're so annoying."

"Ah," he pointed out, "I've graduated from stupid to annoying."

"You are both," she smiled, her eyes still on her food.

"Wow, I'm so talented..." he teased making her groan,

"Oh God, just eat!" she scowled as she chewed the food in front of her, she couldn't help but glance at him the whole time during the meal. He took his time, savoring everything. They were silent. The two of them. Sasuke didn't understand. How was this Ria's happiest memory? How was this pure happiness? She looked sad. She had finished much earlier than Kakashi and was just watching him as she lay her head against her arms.

"Okay, what did I do wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she scowled.

"Then why are you so depressed?" he got up to clean the table, she joined him, roughly snatching things from him so she could lead the cleanup.

"I'm not depressed."

"Ria," the two washed the dishes together, "It's not like you to be quiet."

"Yeah, well, it isn't like me to cook you dinner," she snapped, overtly irritated.

He smiled as he focused on the dishes, "Thanks."

"Thanks?" she frowned, confused now by his words.

He shrugged, "Thank you, for cooking. You are a good cook."

"I'm a great cook," she argued making him laugh and face her,

"Yes, you are an amazing cook. The best in the world," he took hold of her hands in his, "There is nothing you can't do, you are perfect in every way."

She giggled, that sparkle in her eyes was back, "Damn straight Kakashi, and don't you ever forget that."

"Tell me then, why did you honor me with your skill?"

She looked away, unsure, "I don't know. I wanted to."

"Did it make you happy?" he asked her, she nodded, he smiled back at her, "Just do what makes you happy, always. I only ever want you to be happy."

"Are you happy?" she asked him, a little worry in her voice. He looked away to think and then nodded,

"Yeah, I guess I am. I am happy," he rubbed his neck nervously, he didn't look at her, "I never realized, I am happy."

"Good," she watched him, "I like it when you're happy."

He laughed, "Really? I thought I was just stupid to you."

"And annoying," she added, "You are stupid and annoying but I want you to be happy."

"As long as you are," he tucked her hair behind her ear, "I will be. It's impossible to not be happy with you around."

"Kakashi," she began but stopped.

"What?" he tilted his head innocently, not knowing what she wanted to say. Sighing she reached up and tapped his forehead. Seeing her do that made Sasuke fall to his knees, his eyes wide, his body cold. The Genjitsu stopped as they all looked at him, it was as if he had been slapped with intense force. He couldn't believe what he had just seen, he ran then, the others after him. Their eyes widened when they realized where he was going.

The Hokage's Office.

Kakashi rubbed his aching shoulder. Hokage duties were so straining on the body, he hadn't expected how hard doing paperwork was. He kept hearing Lady Tsunade's cackle in his head when she passed off her workload to him. This was supposed to be an honor, an honor he did not want, and he was being proven right. Being Hokage was not fun.

"What are you doing here, Sasuke?" he muttered as he focused on the paperwork, he sensed his presence before he arrived in his office.

"You...you..." he stuttered.

Naruto and Sakura arrived, with the woman tailing behind, "Sasuke..."

"No," he pulled away from them, focused on Kakashi who was oblivious to what was going on, "She...she...You?" he couldn't string the sentence together, it was so hard. It didn't make any sense.

"What's going on?" Kakashi looked at Sakura and Naruto but they too were confused about Sasuke's reaction.

"She did this to you," he jumped over and poked Kakashi's head making him scowl and rub his forehead.

"What did you do that for?" he moved away from Sasuke.

"What does that mean?" Naruto screwed up his face as Sakura pulled Sasuke off Kakashi's desk.

"It means I love you," Sasuke answered frustrated that they weren't getting it, "Dad...he always struggled to say what he felt so instead of saying it he would always just poke us on our heads, Itachi was the same, we all did it, it was our family thing. We aren't the best with words, showing our feelings, so we show it through actions and that means I love you. She did it to you, Ria loved you," his voice broke as he looked directly at Kakashi. His whole demeanor changed, he was no longer cold or distant, he was broken and that was clear to the three of them. "My sister loved you...my sister...you?! How is that even possible? You aren't good enough for her, you aren't, you can't..." he started to feel anger bubble up in him before he could let his frustration out the woman stepped in between them.

"Before you do something you will regret," her eyes were on Sasuke, "Remember what I said, that memory was her happiness." Sasuke fell to his knees, he felt so weak, "Your sisters' happiest memories were with him. Just being beside him made her happy, cooking for him made her happy, watching him made her happy, telling him in her own way that she loved him, made her happy. He is the pinnacle of all her happiness, him. So before you get angry and judge him as a person, know that, whatever you think about him, whatever you feel about him. This man, made your sister feel completely safe and happy. There was no pain with him, there was no sadness or fear. In all her memories she was hurting apart from the memories with him."

"Did you...did you love her?" Sasuke asked Kakashi. He hadn't moved, his eyes were lowered, he didn't speak, how could he say those words, he had never spoken them to anyone but her.

"Didn't you?" Sasuke couldn't handle it, this whole revelation was too much for him, his lip trembled, he was feeling a pain he had never felt, it hurt so much to think that his sister could have been so in love with a person that didn't feel the same about her, "You didn't want us either?" he recalled the memory of the folder, Kakashi's reluctance to mentor them, he was avoiding everything to do with her, he was pushing her away, did he hate her? Was he disgusted by her love? Her care? Her?

There was a growl, a deep guttural snarl, they all jumped, startled when all of Kakashi's ninkin appeared without being summoned. They had sensed Kakashi's pain, their love for their master that deep, they could not handle it any longer.

"Pakkun," Kakashi warned him, his voice sharp.

"No, Kakashi," he snapped, all of them on alert, all with eyes on Sasuke, "No."

"Just let it go," he muttered, coldly, his voice filled with indifference once more, "It doesn't matter."

"It matters," they answered together, "You do matter Kakashi. Your feelings matter. His aren't more important than yours, it's not fair, why you always have to be the one to hide your opinions and your feelings to make other people feel better."

"It's okay..."

"Shut up Kakashi," there was anger in their eyes as they refused to look at him, their words shocked them all, they had never heard his ninkin talk to him like that, they adored him, but right now they were the angriest in the room, "She always said you were stupid, but the stupid one is him, he's stupid to think that it was ever possible for you not to love her," tears filled their eyes as they all focused on Sasuke, "Kakashi loved Ria, more than you can ever even understand. She was everything to him, he loved her first and he loves her now, you got the chance to mourn her, to grieve for her, to grow and love others but he never got that chance. He didn't want to be your sensei because how could he put you in any position where you might get hurt, how can he face her and tell her that he was the reason her baby brother got hurt?"

"But Itachi..." Sasuke stared at them, finding everything so hard to comprehend.

"He didn't know what was happening, he didn't know about what the elders had decided, do you, or any of you think Kakashi would ever condone the mass murder of a whole clan? He had so many chances to kill you or to kill Itachi, you think all those times he came out worse was because he was the inferior fighter? Kakashi has more experience than that boy ever had, he just could never bring himself to have his blood on his hands. He would rather die protecting the village than hurt her brothers..."

"That's enough," Kakashi got in between them, he bent down and faced his ninkin, "It's okay boys, I don't need this, I don't need to explain anything..."

"But Boss," they mumbled, their anger softening as they finally looked at him, they knew they couldn't stay angry when they saw him.

"I'm okay," he smiled wearily.

"No you're not," they argued.

"And that's okay," he patted them all on their heads, "It's okay to not be okay, Sasuke has his friends now, he'll have his own path and life to live, he doesn't need to be dragged by the past anymore. She wanted him to be happy, this doesn't make him happy. We've all suffered, we've all been hurt, but we don't need to constantly share it to feel better. I'm fine the way I am, as long as they are together, I'm fine."

"Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto burst into tears and threw himself at Kakashi who was taken aback by Naruto's action, he bawled as he hugged him, "You were always a good mentor to us. You have us, forever."

"What are you doing?" Kakashi didn't know what to do, he was not used to this behavior, this was usually more Gai's thing.

"I'm sorry with what we put you through, we left you behind and just focused on ourselves..."

Kakashi patted Naruto on the head awkwardly, "It's not your job to think about me, you have nothing to apologize for, I was the one that failed at keeping you all together."

"No," Naruto shook his head, "You did everything right, we were the idiots. You are still here aren't you, that's you, that's our sensei. The one who always has our back, who is always there for us, you are reliable Kakashi Sensei and I never realized it till now."

"Uh...okay," Kakashi was still confused he glanced at Sakura who instantly burst into her own tears and hugged him too, with Naruto still clinging on, "Oh no...not you too!"

"Naruto is right for once," she sobbed, "We are sorry."

"Sasuke is sorry too," Naruto hiccuped, "But he's just being his usual jerk self."

"Shut up Naruto," Sasuke snapped, but was pulled into the hug, he was resistant at first but then mellowed, he glanced at Kakashi letting him know by that one look how he felt, that was enough for the two of them, they didn't need words said.

The woman smiled, "I guess this room now has a new memory it will treasure for years to come," those four together, it seemed right, the way it should be.


End file.
